Dino card No. 1901 of 2,027

Volkheimeria

Say it: VOLK-hy-MEER-ee-uh

Name means: “Volkheimer's lizard, after paleontologist Wolfgang Volkheimer”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksEarly Jurassic

Volkheimeria was an early, long-necked dinosaur that lived in what is now Argentina about 180 million years ago. It was a sauropod, but not one of the giant ones you might know like Brachiosaurus. Scientists think it was still growing when it died, so we don't know exactly how big a full-grown one would be.1

Lived

183 to 180 million years ago4

Early Jurassic

Fossils found in

Cerro Cóndor, Chubut Province, Argentina1

Food

Plants1 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Volkheimeria lived during the Early Jurassic, about 179 to 178 million years ago, at a time when many other early sauropods were also appearing.1

The only known skeleton is a partial one, including parts of the backbone, hip bones, a thigh bone, and a shin bone.1

Its thigh bone is 63 cm long, which gives scientists a clue about its size.2

Volkheimeria had air sacs in its neck vertebrae, making its skeleton lighter, but not in its back vertebrae.1

Its tail was probably short because the tail bones are short from front to back.1

Scientists are not sure exactly where Volkheimeria fits in the sauropod family tree. Some think it is a very early sauropod, not yet a eusauropod.1

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

?What did Volkheimeria eat?

Volkheimeria was a plant-eating dinosaur. A tooth that may belong to it is broad and spoon-shaped with large denticles, which is good for eating plants.1

?How big was Volkheimeria?

The size of a fully grown Volkheimeria is not known because the only known specimen was still growing. An estimate based on the partial skeleton suggests it was about 11 metres long.1 3

?Where was Volkheimeria found?

Volkheimeria was found in Argentina, near the village of Cerro Cóndor in Chubut Province.1

?When did Volkheimeria live?

Volkheimeria lived during the Early Jurassic, about 179 to 178 million years ago.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Volkheimeria
Named by: Bonaparte 19794
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Gravisauria4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda4
Age of the rocks: 183 to 180 million years (Toarcian)4
Rock formations: Cañadón Asfalto4
Countries: Argentina4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Volkheimeria was named by Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1979. The name honors Wolfgang Volkheimer, another Argentine scientist. The fossils were found near Cerro Cóndor in Chubut, Argentina.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Volkheimeria was a very early sauropod or a more advanced eusauropod, because the only skeleton is incomplete.1

Where the facts come from

Volkheimeria (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
VOLKHEIMERIA - DinoChecker dinosaur archive (dinochecker.com)
Volkheimeria 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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