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Mussaurus
Temporal range: Upper Triassic
Mussaurus patagonikus DSC 2904.jpg
Fossil juvenile skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Sauropsida
Superorder:
Dinosauria
Order:
Saurischia
Suborder:
Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder:
Prosauropoda
Genus:
Mussaurus
Mussaurus patagonicus
Life restoration of an infant eating a Dicroidium fern

Mussaurus (meaning "mouse lizard") was an early, plant-eating prosauropod dinosaur from the Upper Triassic, about 215 million years ago. It was found in southern Argentina. It gets its name from the small size of the skeletons first discovered. They were large-eyed hatchlings (babies), only 9-16 inches long (18-37 cm); these are the smallest dinosaur skeletons yet found.

However, Mussaurus is now known from adult specimens. the name is something of a misnomer; adults possibly reached 3 m (10 ft) in length, and weighed 70 kilograms (150 lb). Mussaurus possesses anatomical features suggesting a close, possibly transitional evolutionary relationship with true sauropods.

Images for kids

  • Mussaurus patagonicus life restoration

    Life restoration of adult Mussaurus

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