"Broad lizard"

Plateosaurus

Late Triassic · 214–204 MyaHerbivoreGermany, Switzerland, France

Europe's most common dinosaur fossil and the prototype of the long-necks: a two-legged browser with a small head, huge thumb claws and a neck reaching where no animal had reached before. Its descendants' cousins would become the largest creatures ever to walk the Earth.

Length
8 m
Height
3.6 m
Weight
2,600 kg
Top speed
18 km/h

Field notes

  • Over 100 skeletons have been dug up, mostly in Germany.
  • Unlike the later giants, it walked on two legs.
  • Individuals of the same age could differ wildly in size — growth depended on climate.
Meet the rest of the Plateosauridae family →