Dino card No. 1434 of 2,015

Plateosaurus

Say it: PLAT-ee-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “broad lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Triassic to Early Jurassic

Plateosaurus was one of the first big plant-eating dinosaurs. It lived in Europe during the Late Triassic, about 214 to 204 million years ago. With its long neck, small head, and strong hind legs, it could walk on two feet and reach high plants.2

Lived

227 to 200 million years ago3

Late Triassic to Early Jurassic

Fossils found in

Germany, Switzerland, France, Greenland, and the United Kingdom3

Food

Plants3 2

Length

4.8 to 10 m2

fully grown individuals varied a lot in size

Weight

600 kg to 4 tonnes2

Artist's life restoration of Plateosaurus — How Plateosaurus may have looked, by Nobu Tamura email:[email protected] http://spinops.blogspot.com/ http://paleoexhibit.blogspot.com/. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Over 100 skeletons of Plateosaurus have been found, some nearly complete. That makes it one of the best-known dinosaurs.2

Plateosaurus had strong arms with three big claws on each hand. Scientists think it used them for defence and for grabbing food.2

Unlike many dinosaurs, Plateosaurus did not grow to a standard adult size. Some adults were only 4.8 metres long, while others reached 10 metres.2

The name Plateosaurus is often mistranslated as 'flat lizard', but it probably means 'broad lizard'.2

Plateosaurus lived for at least 12 to 20 years, but scientists are not sure how long its maximum lifespan was.2

In Germany, Plateosaurus is so common that it is nicknamed the 'Swabian lindworm' after a local dragon legend.2

The first Plateosaurus fossils were found in 1834 by a doctor named Johann Friedrich Engelhardt near Nuremberg, Germany.2

Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Plateosaurus walked on all fours like a giant lizard.

Truth: Plateosaurus was actually bipedal. It walked on its two strong hind legs and used its short arms for grasping.2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Plateosaurus
Named by: Meyer 18373
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Plateosauridae3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha3
Age of the rocks: 227 to 200 million years (Norian to Hettangian)3
Rock formations: Löwenstein, Trossingen, Klettgau3
Countries: Germany, France, Switzerland, Greenland, United Kingdom3
Fossil records: 36 in the Paleobiology Database3
Also known as: Platysaurus, Sellosaurus (older names now counted as the same animal)3
Discovery: Plateosaurus was named in 1837 by German paleontologist Hermann von Meyer. The first fossils were found two years earlier by Johann Friedrich Engelhardt in Heroldsberg, Germany.2
Still debated: Scientists still debate how many species of Plateosaurus there are. Some think there are three valid species, but others disagree.2

Where the facts come from

Plateosaurus von Meyer, 1837 (gbif.org)
Opinion 2435 (Case 3560), Plateosaurus Meyer, 1837 (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha): new type species designated | Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature (biotaxa.org)
Plateosaurus 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.