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Ruehleia

Say it: roo-LEE-uh

Name means: “named after the German paleontologist Hugo Rühle von Lilienstern”1 2

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Triassic

Ruehleia was a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur that lived in what is now Germany during the Late Triassic period, about 216 to 208 million years ago. It had a nearly complete skeleton, including neck, back, and tail bones, as well as most of its limbs and hands. This dinosaur was a sauropodomorph, a relative of the huge long-necked sauropods that came later.1 3

Lived

227 to 206 million years ago4

Late Triassic

Fossils found in

Germany (Thuringia)1 3

Food

Plants3

Length

4 to 6 m1

estimated from the nearly complete skeleton

Weight

200 kg to 400 kg1

Height

1.5 to 2 m1

at the hips

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 3 bicycles in a rowas long as 33 bananas end to endas heavy as 13 big dogsas heavy as 80 watermelonsabout as tall as a door

How big was Ruehleia compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Ruehleia was named in 2001 by paleontologist Peter Galton, based on a skeleton discovered in 1952.1 2

Its full name, Ruehleia bedheimensis, honors Hugo Rühle von Lilienstern, a German paleontologist from Bedheim.1 2

The fossils were found in the Trossingen Formation, which is about 216 to 208 million years old.1 3

Ruehleia had a very short front part of its hip bone (ilium) and a large pubic peduncle, which helped support its body.2

Its hands had three large wrist bones with complicated surfaces, suggesting it could grip plants while eating.2

Ruehleia is considered a plateosaur, a group of early sauropodomorph dinosaurs that were relatives of the giant sauropods.2 3

AI-made picture of Ruehleia — An AI-made picture of how Ruehleia might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Ruehleia

?How big was Ruehleia?

The sources do not give a specific size for Ruehleia, but it was a sauropodomorph dinosaur, similar in build to other plateosaurs. Its nearly complete skeleton includes most limb bones, so scientists can estimate its size, but no exact numbers are provided in the available sources.1 2

?What did Ruehleia eat?

Ruehleia was a plant-eating dinosaur. Its hands had three large wrist bones with complicated surfaces, suggesting it could grip plants while eating.1

?When did Ruehleia live?

Ruehleia lived during the Late Triassic period, about 216 to 208 million years ago, in the Norian stage.1

?Where was Ruehleia found?

Ruehleia fossils were found in the Trossingen Formation of central Germany, near Römhild in Thuringia.1 4

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Ruehleia
Named by: Galton 20014
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Plateosauridae4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha4
Age of the rocks: 227 to 206 million years (Norian)4
Rock formations: Trossingen4
Countries: Germany4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The skeleton was discovered in 1952 near Römhild, Germany, and was later named Ruehleia bedheimensis by Peter Galton in 2001.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Ruehleia is a separate genus or just a species of Plateosaurus, because the fossils are very similar.1 3

Where the facts come from

Ruehleia (en.wikipedia.org)
Ruehleia bedheimensis, a new prosauropod from Germany (dml.reptilis.net)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Ruehleia 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.

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