Ask aDino Field Guide ← Triassic

Artist's reconstruction · realistic art coming in a later version

Plateosaurus

PLAT-ee-uh-SOR-us

“Broad Lizard”

Triassic
When
Late Triassic
Where
Europe
Size
Up to 33 ft long
Diet
Plants

6 Facts

1–6
  1. Plateosaurus was one of the first really big dinosaurs, reaching up to 33 feet.
  2. Its name means “Broad Lizard.”
  3. It was an early relative of the giant long-necks, but it mostly walked on two legs.
  4. It had a long neck for reaching plants and a thumb claw that may have pulled branches down.
  5. Many skeletons have been found in Europe, so scientists understand it very well.
  6. It shows how dinosaurs were starting to get huge even before the Jurassic giants.