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Herrerasaurus (hay-rare-uh-sor-uhss)

provided by EOL authors

Name means: "Herrera's lizard," after Argentine rancher Don Victorino Herrera.

Classification: Saurischia, Theropoda, Herrerasauridae

Length: 16.5 ft. (5 m)

Time: Late Triassic, 225 million years ago

Place: Argentina

Diet: Meat

Details: Probably the earliest known theropod, Herrerasaurus was much more primitive than later predators. The largest of the early meat-eating dinosaurs, it may have weighed about 400 pounds (181 kilograms). Double-hinged jaws allowed Herrerasaurus to grip its prey and to swallow huge chunks of meat. Serrated teeth helped it slice the flesh from a fresh kill. Evidence of its primitive nature includes such anatomical features as the rectangular shape of its nearly complete skull fossil.

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cc-by-3.0
copyright
Don Lessem
bibliographic citation
Lessem, Don. "H." Scholastic Dinosaurs A to Z: The Ultimate Dinosaur Encyclopedia. New York City: Scholastic, 2003. 96. Print.
author
CJ Kronk (Superraptor)
original
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EOL authors