Prosauropods

• The prosauropods were the first really big dinosaurs to appear on Earth. They were plant-eaters that thrived about 230-180 mya.

• Prosauropods had small heads, long necks and tails, wide bodies, and four sturdy limbs.

• One of the first prosauropods was Plateosaurus, which lived about 220 mya in present-day France, Germany, Switzerland, and other parts of Europe.

• Plateosaurus usually walked on all fours, but it may have reared up on its back legs to reach high leaves.

• Plateosaurus was up to 26ft (8m) in total length, and weighed about 1 ton.

• Another prosauropod was Riojasaurus. Its fossils are 218 mya, and come from Argentina.

• Riojasaurus was 33ft (10m) long and weighed about 4,400lb (2 tons).

• Anchisaurus was one of the smallest prosauropods, at only 8ft (2.5m) long and about 66lb (30kg). It lived in eastern North America about 190 mya.

• Fossil evidence suggests that 16ft (5m) long Massospondylus lived in southern Africa and perhaps North America.

• The sauropods followed the prosauropods and were even bigger, but had the same basic body shape, with long necks and tails.

By: Parker, Steve, Dinosaurs