Euskelosaurus ("good leg lizard") was a semi-bipedal dinosaur from the Late Triassic. It was a prosauropod that lived in the Late Triassic Period, in present-day South Africa, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe. It was first described by Thomas Henry Huxley in 1866 based on limb and spinal bones.[1] It may actually be the same animal as Plateosauravus also found in southern Africa.
| Euskelosaurus Fossil range: Late Triassic |
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| Euskelosaurus browni Huxley, 1886 |
Description
It has been estimated to have been about 10 metres in length, which is somewhat large for a prosauropod.[1] Its limbs were large and sauropod-like. Another distinguishing feature of the limbs of Euskelosaurus is that the shaft of its thigh bone is twisted. A scientist named Jacques van Heerden has suggested that this configuration effectively rendered Euskelosaurus bow-legged. If this is correct it is highly unusual for a dinosaur, as dinosaur legs are typically oriented directly under the body like in mammals.[1]
References
1. ^ a b c "Euskelosaurus." In: Dodson, Peter & Britt, Brooks & Carpenter, Kenneth & Forster, Catherine A. & Gillette, David D. & Norell, Mark A. & Olshevsky, George & Parrish, J. Michael & Weishampel, David B. The Age of Dinosaurs. Publications International, LTD. p. 35. ISBN 0-7853-0443-6.
External links
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