Prosauropoda

views updated

Prosauropoda (subclass Archosauria, order Saurischia) A suborder of primitive, partly bipedal, saurischian dinosaurs, largely restricted to the Upper Triassic. They were heavily built herbivores (Plateosaurus gracilis grew to approximately 6–7 m in length and weighed two tonnes). Current theory suggests that the prosauropods were a side-branch on the sauropod (Sauropoda) family tree, and not ancestral to later forms.

More From encyclopedia.com