Name:
Herrerasaurus (Greek for "Herrera's lizard"); pronounced herr-RARE-oh-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of South America
Historical Period:
Middle Triassic (230 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 10 feet long and 400 pounds
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Sharp teeth; ridge on snout; three-fingered hands with claws
About Herrerasaurus:
One of the most primitive of all dinosaurs, there's some dispute about whether Herrerasaurus is even technically a dinosaur at all--that is, this carnivore may predate the primordial split between ornithischian and saurischian dinosaurs, which would put in in a different category altogether. Whatever the case, it's clear from Herrerasaurus' arsenal--including sharp teeth, three-fingered hands, and a bipedal gait--that it was a very active, and probably a very dangerous, predator.
In case you were wondering, the reason this dinosaur is called Herrerasaurus is because its fossils were discovered by an Andean farmer named Victorino Herrera, in 1959.
