Sauropodomorpha

Sauropodomorpha ( ; from Greek, meaning "lizard-footed forms") is an extinct clade of saurischian dinosaurs that includes the long-necked, herbivorous sauropods and their ancestral relatives. Early, more basal sauropodomorphs (traditionally termed prosauropods) were bipedal, and the earliest show evidence of omnivorous or carnivorous diets. Over time, sauropodomorph evolution resulted in a shift to herbivorous diets, larger body sizes, and quadrupedal locomotion. The sauropods themselves generally grew to very large sizes, had long necks and tails, and became the largest animals to ever walk t

Eoraptor () is a genus of small, lightly built, basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. One of the earliest-known dinosaurs and one of the earliest sauropodomorphs, it lived approximately 231 to 228 million years ago, during the Late Triassic in Western Gondwana, in the region that is now northwestern Argentina. The type and only species, Eoraptor lunensis, was first described in 1993, and is known from an almost complete and well-preserved skeleton and several fragmentary ones. Eoraptor had multiple tooth shapes, which suggests that it was omnivorous.

Plateosaurus (probably meaning "broad lizard", often mistranslated as "flat lizard") is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic epoch of the Triassic period, around 214 to 204 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. Plateosaurus is a basal (early) sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod". The type species is Plateosaurus trossingensis; before 2019, that honor was given to Plateosaurus engelhardti, but it was ruled as undiagnostic (i.e. indistinguishable from other dinosaurs) by the ICZN. Currently, there are three valid species; in

Thecodontosaurus ("socket-tooth lizard") is a genus of herbivorous basal sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived during the late Triassic period (Carnian age). Its remains are known mostly from Triassic "fissure fillings" in southern England. Thecodontosaurus was a small bipedal animal, about long. It is one of the first dinosaurs to be discovered and is one of the oldest that ever existed. Many species have been named within the genus, but only the type species Thecodontosaurus antiquus is seen as valid today.

Guaibasaurus is an extinct genus of basal saurischian dinosaur known from the Late Triassic Caturrita Formation of Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Most analyses recover it as a sauropodomorph, although there are some suggestions that it was a theropod instead. In 2016 Gregory S. Paul estimated it at around 2 meters long (6.6 ft) and 10 kg (22 lbs), whereas in 2020 Molina-Pérez and Larramendi listed it at 3 meters (10 ft) and 35 kg (77 lbs).

Plateosauridae is a family of plateosaurian sauropodomorphs from the Late Triassic of Europe, Greenland, Africa and Asia. Although several dinosaurs have been classified as plateosaurids over the years, the family Plateosauridae is now restricted to Plateosaurus, Yimenosaurus, Euskelosaurus, and Issi. In another study, Yates (2003) sunk Sellosaurus into Plateosaurus (as P. gracilis). Gresslyosaurus is alternatively considered its own genus or a synonym of Plateosaurus.

Guaibasauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs, known from fossil remains of late Triassic period formations in Brazil, Argentina and India.

Buriolestes is a genus of early sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Santa Maria Formation of the Paraná Basin in southern Brazil. It contains a single species, B. schultzi, named in 2016. The type specimen was found alongside a specimen of the lagerpetid pterosauromorph Ixalerpeton.

Gyposaurus (meaning "vulture lizard", referring to the outdated hypothesis that prosauropods were carnivores) is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the early Jurassic of South Africa. It is usually considered to represent juveniles of other prosauropods, but "G." sinensis is regarded as a possibly valid species.

Efraasia (pronounced "E-FRAHS-ee-A") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It was a herbivore which lived during the middle Norian stage of the Late Triassic, around 210 million years ago, in what is now Germany. It was named in 1973 after Eberhard Fraas, who during the early twentieth century collected what were the original type specimens. The specimens were at first assigned to three already existing genera and so became divided among three separate species: Teratosaurus minor, Sellosaurus fraasi and Paleosaurus diagnosticus. In 2003, these were combined into a single valid spec

Agrosaurus (; perhaps from Greek agros meaning 'field' and sauros meaning 'lizard', "field lizard") is a potentially dubious genus of thecodontosaurid sauropodomorph probably originating from the Magnesian Conglomerate of England that was originally believed to be a Triassic prosauropod from Australia. Agrosaurus would thus be the oldest dinosaur from that country. However, this appears to have been an error, and the material actually appears to come from Thecodontosaurus or a Thecodontosaurus-like animal from Bristol, England (Avon Fissure Fill). The type species is Agrosaurus macgillivrayi.

Pantydraco (where "panty-" is short for Pant-y-ffynnon, signifying hollow of the spring/well in Welsh, referring to the quarry at Bonvilston in South Wales where it was found) is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic of the United Kingdom (Wales). It is based on a partial juvenile skeleton once thought to belong to Thecodontosaurus. Only one valid species of Pantydraco is recognised: P. caducus.

Ahvaytum ( ; ) is an extinct genus of probable basal sauropodomorph saurischian dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Popo Agie Formation of Wyoming, United States. The genus contains a single species, A. bahndooiveche, known from fragmentary hindlimb bones. Ahvaytum represents the oldest known named dinosaur of the ancient Laurasian landmass.

Bagualosaurus is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Candelária Sequence (Uppermost Santa Maria Formation) of Brazil, dating to around 230 million years ago, in the Carnian of the Late Triassic. It includes one species, Bagualosaurus agudoensis.

Arcusaurus is an extinct genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian stage) of South Africa. Arcusaurus was first named by Adam Yates, Matthew Bonnan and Johann Neveling in 2011 and the type species is Arcusaurus pereirabdalorum. The generic name is derived from Latin arcus, "rainbow", a reference to the Rainbow Nation. The specific epithet honours Lucille Pereira and Fernando Abdala who discovered the fossils.

Euskelosaurus ("good leg lizard") is a sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa and Lesotho. Fossils have only been recovered from the lower Elliot Formation in South Africa and Lesotho, and in one locality in Zimbabwe.

Asylosaurus (meaning "unharmed or dookie lizard") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic Avon Fissure Fill of England. It is based on partial remains, discovered in the autumn of 1834, described in 1836 by Henry Riley and Samuel Stutchbury as pertaining to Thecodontosaurus, that Othniel Charles Marsh brought to Yale University between 1888 and 1890. These remains thus escaped destruction by a bombardment in 1940 during World War II, unlike the original holotype of Thecodontosaurus. Asylosaurus was described in 2007 by Peter Galton. The type species is A. yalensis, r

Xixiposaurus (meaning "Xixipo lizard") is a genus of "prosauropod" dinosaur which existed in what is now Lower Lufeng Formation, China during the lower Jurassic period. It was first named by Sekiya Toru in 2010 and the type species is X. suni.

Yimenosaurus (meaning "Yiman reptile") is an extinct genus of plateosaurid sauropodomorph dinosaur that lived in China in the Early Jurassic. The genus was first named in 1990 by Ziqi Bai, Jie Yang and Guohui Wang, along with its type and only species, Yimenosaurus youngi. The species name honours renowned Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian, the father of Chinese paleontology, known as C.C. Young in English. Known material includes the holotype, an almost complete skull and mandible, as well as incomplete cervical and dorsal vertebrae, a mostly complete sacrum, an ilium, ischia, partial rib

Mbiresaurus (meaning "Mbire reptile") is an extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Carnian) Pebbly Arkose Formation of Zimbabwe. The genus contains a single species, Mbiresaurus raathi, known from a nearly complete skeleton. Mbiresaurus represents one of Africa’s earliest known definitive dinosaurs.

Nambalia is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It lived during the Late Triassic period (late Norian to earliest Rhaetian) in what is now Telangana, central India. It is known from the holotype ISI R273, parts 1–3, partially articulated postcranial material and from the paratypes ISI R273, parts 4-29, including partial postcrania of at least two individuals of different sizes found closely associated and one of them is nearly the same size as the holotype.

Aetonyx is a dubious genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. Its only species is A. palustris, which was named by Robert Broom in 1911 based on a fragmentary skeleton from the upper Elliot Formation found near Fouriesburg, Free State Province. Broom considered it as a species of "carnivorous dinosaur". In 1924, Sydney H. Haughton assigned a second specimen to Aetonyx, which is also from Fouriesburg. In 1932, Friedrich von Huene suggested that the species Thecodontosaurus dubius, which Haughton had named in his 1924 paper, is a synonym of Aetonyx palustris.

Ruehleia is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic period of Germany. The type species is R. bedheimensis, described by Galton in 2001, and is named for the German paleontologist Hugo Rühle von Lilienstern. Discovered in 1952, the holotype consists of one nearly complete skeleton, including cervical (neck), dorsal (back), and caudal (tail) vertebrae; a partial sacrum; a scapulocoracoid; pelvic bones; most limb bones; and a partially complete manus (hands). The fossils were found in the Trossingen Formation of central Germany and date to the Norian stage, around 216 to 208 mi

Plateosauravus ("grandfather of Plateosaurus") is a basal plateosaurian of uncertain affinities from the Late Triassic Elliot Formation of South Africa.

Issi (meaning "cold" in Greenlandic) is a plateosaurid dinosaur from the Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of Greenland. It contains one species, Issi saaneq; the full binomial name means "cold bone". Fossils of Issi were previously assigned to the species Plateosaurus trossingensis, but new finds allowed for a reassessment of that material that showed that it possessed features thought to be exclusive to Brazilian sauropodomorphs such as Unaysaurus and Macrocollum. This ultimately led to the designation of Issi as a distinct genus in 2021. This taxon is the first non-avian dinosaur descri

Thecodontosauridae is a family of basal sauropodomorph dinosaurs that are part of the Bagualosauria, known from fossil remains found exclusively in the Magnesian Conglomerate of Bristol, England, which dates back to the Rhaetian stage of the Late Triassic (although it could be as old as the Norian stage of the Late Triassic and as young as the Hettangian stage of the Early Jurassic). Two genera are known: Agrosaurus and Thecodontosaurus; the former is often considered to be the same animal as the latter.

Huayracursor () is an extinct genus of early sauropodomorph dinosaurs known from the Late Triassic (Carnian age) Santo Domingo Formation of Argentina. The genus contains a single species, Huayracursor jaguensis, known from a partial articulated skeleton.

Wudingloong is an extinct genus of massopodan sauropodomorph dinosaurs known from the Early Jurassic Yubacun Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Wudingloong wui, known from a partial skeleton including the skull.

Hortalotarsus is a dubious genus of sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of southern Africa. The only species is H. skirtopodus. Hortalotarsus was described by Harry Seeley in 1894 based on parts of a hind limb discovered in the Clarens Formation near Makhanda, South Africa. Originally, these fossils were part of the larger part of a skeleton, locally known as the , that had been destroyed using gunpowder in an attempt to remove the bones from the encasing slate. In 1906, Robert Broom assigned a second specimen to the species but later gave it a species of its own, Gyposaurus capens

Pachysuchus is a dubious extinct genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of China.

Orosaurus ("mountain lizard") is a dubious genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic of South Africa, containing a single species, O. capensis.

Fulengia is a dubious genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of China. The type species, F. youngi, was described by Carroll and Galton in 1977. It is a nomen dubium and may be the same animal as Lufengosaurus (from which it is anagramized). It was originally thought to be a lizard.