Dino card No. 1582 of 2,027

Sarahsaurus

Say it: suh-RAHR-sore-us

Name means: “Sarah's lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksEarly Jurassic

Sarahsaurus was an early long-necked dinosaur that lived in what is now Arizona during the Early Jurassic. It was one of the first sauropodomorphs to appear in North America after a big extinction event.2 1

Lived

200 to 184 million years ago4

Early Jurassic

Fossils found in

Arizona, USA (Kayenta Formation, Navajo Nation)1

Food

Plants4

Length

4 to 5 m4

estimate based on related massospondylids

Weight

150 kg to 250 kg4

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 8 big dogs

as long as 5 dogs nose to tailas long as 28 bananas end to endas heavy as 50 watermelons

How big was Sarahsaurus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Sarahsaurus is one of only three sauropodomorph dinosaurs known from the Early Jurassic of North America.2

Its name honors Sarah and Ernest Butler, whose generosity helped science in Texas.1

The specific name 'aurifontanalis' means 'of the gold spring', referring to Gold Spring, Arizona, where the first skeleton was found.1

Scientists used CT scans to study the skull of Sarahsaurus without damaging the fossils.1

Sarahsaurus belongs to the group Massospondylidae, which includes dinosaurs mostly found in the southern continents.2

The holotype skeleton includes a partial skull, most of the backbone, both arms, and both legs.1

AI-made picture of Sarahsaurus — An AI-made picture of how Sarahsaurus 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 Sarahsaurus

?How big was Sarahsaurus?

Sarahsaurus was mid-sized for a basal sauropodomorph. Its vertebral column measured more than 3.1 metres (10 ft) long, and one estimate gives a total length of about 4 metres (13 ft) and a weight of 200 kilograms (440 lb).3

?What did Sarahsaurus eat?

Sarahsaurus was probably a plant-eater, but it had very large, powerful hands, which might mean it also ate some meat, making it an omnivore.3

?When did Sarahsaurus live?

Sarahsaurus lived during the Early Jurassic period, about 200 to 190 million years ago.3

?Where was Sarahsaurus found?

All Sarahsaurus fossils were found near Gold Spring, Arizona, in the Kayenta Formation.3 1

?Why is it called Sarahsaurus?

It is named after Sarah Butler, who helped fund a dinosaur exhibit, and the species name 'aurifontanalis' means 'of the gold spring', after the place where it was found.3

?Was Sarahsaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Sarahsaurus was a dinosaur, specifically a basal sauropodomorph, a group of long-necked dinosaurs.3

Ask Rex about Sarahsaurus

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 Sarahsaurus was a giant, elephant-sized dinosaur.

Truth: Sarahsaurus was actually quite small for a sauropodomorph, only about 4 to 5 meters long and weighing as much as a black bear.4

For dino experts

Scientific name: Sarahsaurus
Named by: Rowe et al. 20114
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Massospondylidae4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha4
Age of the rocks: 200 to 184 million years (Sinemurian / Pliensbachian)4
Rock formations: Kayenta4
Countries: USA4
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Sarahsaurus was named in 2011 by Timothy Rowe, Hans-Dieter Sues, and Robert Reisz. The first fossils were collected between 1997 and 2000 by a team from the University of Texas and the Navajo Nation EcoScouts.4 1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating whether the three North American sauropodomorphs arrived by separate migrations or evolved from a common ancestor that lived in North America.2

Where the facts come from

Anatomy and systematics of the sauropodomorph ... (journals.plos.org)
Anatomy and systematics of the sauropodomorph Sarahsaurus aurifontanalis from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Sarahsaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Sarahsaurus 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