Dino card No. 1781 of 2,015

Thecodontosaurus

Say it: THEE-ko-don-toh-SORE-us

Name means: “socket-tooth lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksMiddle Triassic to Early Jurassic

Thecodontosaurus was one of the very first dinosaurs to ever live. It was a small, speedy plant-eater that ran on two legs and lived in what is now England. This little dinosaur is one of the oldest dinosaurs known to science.1

Lived

247 to 193 million years ago3

Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic

Fossils found in

England (Bristol area), and also France, Germany, Lesotho, and Zimbabwe1 3

Food

Plants1 2

Length

1.2 to 2.5 m1

average about 1.2 m, largest individuals up to 2.5 m

Weight

11 kg1

Height

0.3 m1

at the hips

Artist's life restoration of Thecodontosaurus — How Thecodontosaurus may have looked, by Mario Lanzas. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Scientists still argue about colours and details.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

Thecodontosaurus was one of the first dinosaurs ever named, back in 1836, even before the word 'dinosaur' existed.1

It had five fingers on each hand and five toes on each foot, with a long claw on each finger.1

Its tail was longer than its head, neck and body put together.1

Thecodontosaurus was a fast runner, and its brain and inner ear helped it keep its head steady while moving.2

For a long time, scientists thought Thecodontosaurus was a lizard, not a dinosaur. It was only in 1870 that Thomas Huxley showed it was a dinosaur.1

Some fossils of Thecodontosaurus were once mistaken for a dinosaur from Australia, but they actually came from England.1

Thecodontosaurus lived during the Late Triassic period, about 205 to 201 million years ago.2

Myth buster

Myth: Thecodontosaurus was a large, slow plant-eater like later sauropods.

Truth: Thecodontosaurus was small (about 1.2 m long) and a fast, agile runner on two legs.1 2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Thecodontosaurus
Named by: Riley and Stutchbury 18363
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Sauropodomorpha3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha3
Age of the rocks: 247 to 193 million years ()3
Rock formations: Forest Sandstone, Magnesian Conglomerate, Elliot3
Countries: United Kingdom, Zimbabwe, France, Germany, Lesotho3
Fossil records: 14 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Thecodontosaurus was discovered in 1834 by surgeon Henry Riley and curator Samuel Stutchbury in a quarry near Bristol, England. They named it in 1836, and the full species name Thecodontosaurus antiquus was given by John Morris in 1843.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Thecodontosaurus ate only plants or also ate small animals. Its teeth suggest it was mostly a plant-eater, but it might have eaten meat sometimes.2

Where the facts come from

Thecodontosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
The braincase, brain and palaeobiology of the basal sauropodomorph dinosaur Thecodontosaurus antiquus (cpb-eu-w2.wpmucdn.com)
Thecodontosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@dinowiki.app and we will fix it.