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Barapasaurus

By , About.com Guide

barapasaurus

Barapasaurus (Dmitri Bogdanov)

Name:

Barapasaurus (Greek for "big-legged lizard"); pronounced bah-RAP-oh-SORE-us

Habitat:

Plains of southern Asia

Historical Period:

Early-middle Jurassic (190-175 million years ago)

Size and Weight:

About 60 feet long and 20 tons

Diet:

Plants

Distinguishing Characteristics:

Long legs and neck; short, deep head

About Barapasaurus:

Although its skeleton has yet to be completely reconstructed, scientists are fairly confident that Barapasaurus was among the earliest of the giant sauropods--the four-footed herbivorous dinosaurs that grazed the plants and trees of the Jurassic period. As far as paleontologists can tell, Barapasaurus had the classic sauropod shape--huge legs, thick body, long neck and tail and small head--but was otherwise relatively undifferentiated, serving as the plain-vanilla "template" for later sauropod evolution.

Interestingly, Barapasaurus is one of the few dinosaurs to be discovered in modern-day India. About half a dozen fossil specimens have been unearthed so far, but to date, no one has found this sauropod's skull (though scattered tooth remnants have been identified, which helps experts reconstruct the probable shape of its head). This isn't an unusual situation, as sauropods' skulls were only loosely attached to the rest of their skeletons and were easily detached after death.

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