Name:
Lagosuchus (Greek for "rabbit crocodile"); pronounced LAY-go-SOO-cuss
Habitat:
Woodlands of South America
Historical Period:
Middle Triassic (230 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About a foot long and one pound
Diet:
Meat
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Tiny size; bipedal posture; long hind legs
About Lagosuchus:
Although it wasn't a true dinosaur, many paleontologists believe Lagosuchus may have been the genus of archosaur from which all dinosaurs evolved. It certainly had plenty of dinosaur-like characteristics, including long legs, large feet, a flexible tail, and (at least some of the time) a bipedal posture, giving it an uncanny similarity to the later theropods of the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods.
If you doubt that the mighty race of dinosaurs could have evolved from a tiny creature that weighed about a pound, keep in mind that all of today's mammals--including whales, hippopotamuses, and elephants--can trace their lineage back to comparably tiny, shrew-like mammals that scurried underfoot a hundred million years ago!
