Melanorosaurus
Melanorosaurus was a huge, heavy plant-eater that lived during the Late Triassic. It walked on four strong legs and was as long as a school bus. Its bones were very thick and sturdy, like the later giant sauropods.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How heavy was it?
How big was Melanorosaurus compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast was it?
Fun facts
The name Melanorosaurus comes from the Greek for 'Black Mountain', because its fossils were first found on a mountain called Thaba 'Nyama (Black Mountain) in South Africa.1
Its skull was about 25 centimetres (10 inches) long and had a pointed snout.1
Melanorosaurus had 4 teeth on each side of its upper jaw front and 19 teeth on each side of its upper cheek.1
For a long time scientists thought Melanorosaurus was a prosauropod, but now they think it was an early, distant relative of the giant sauropods.1
The first fossils of Melanorosaurus were named in 1924 by Sidney H. Haughton.1
Some bones once thought to belong to Melanorosaurus have since been given new names, like Meroktenos thabanensis.1
Most asked questions about Melanorosaurus
?How big was Melanorosaurus?
About 8 metres (26 feet) long and weighed around 1.3 tonnes. That is about as long as a school bus.12
?Where was Melanorosaurus found?
Its fossils were discovered in South Africa, on a mountain called Thaba 'Nyama (Black Mountain) in Transkei.12
Ask Rex about Melanorosaurus
Rex only answers questions about this page. 10 questions a month.
Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.
Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Melanorosaurus was a true sauropod, just like Brachiosaurus.
Truth: Scientists now place Melanorosaurus outside Sauropoda, meaning it was not a true sauropod but a close cousin.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Melanorosaurus
- Named by
- Haughton 19243
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Sauropodiformes3
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha3
- Age of the rocks
- 227 to 193 million years (Norian / Sinemurian)3
- Rock formations
- Elliot3
- Countries
- Lesotho, South Africa3
- Fossil records
- 9 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- The first fossils were found on the north slope of Thaba 'Nyama in Transkei, South Africa. Sidney H. Haughton described and named Melanorosaurus readi in 1924.1
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate exactly which fossils belong to Melanorosaurus and which belong to other, similar dinosaurs.1
Where the facts come from
- Melanorosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Melanorosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Melanorosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex
Brachiosaurus
Diplodocus
Brontosaurus
Argentinosaurus
Camarasaurus
Morosaurus
Nothosaurus
Coelophysis
Podokesaurus
Simosaurus
Eudimorphodon
Herrerasaurus