Page 40 - DINOSOUR ATLAS
P. 40
today’s landscape
The swamps and forests of the Late Triassic
are now the rugged, moonlike landscape of
the Ischigualasto region. It is a desert zone,
that lies, on average, 4,000 ft (1,200 m) above
sea level, with little rainfall and sparse
vegetation. Stream beds are dry for much of
the time, but when rain does fall they quickly
fill and flash floods can occur. Since 1971,
much of the area has been a national park.
lush forest
More than 100 different plant species
have been identified, from ground-
covering ferns and horsetails to trees
that towered 131 ft (40 m) above them.
herrerasaurus eoraptor
One of the largest hunters of the time, In the Triassic forests of Argentina lived the
Herrerasaurus was a sharp-eyed predator tiny Eoraptor—a predatory animal that hunted
whose backward-pointing teeth pulled lizards and small mammal-like creatures.
flesh from its prey. It was one of the first carnivorous dinosaurs.
pisanosaurus
About the size of a sheep, Pisanosaurus was a
plant-eater. It ate low-growing plants, which it
nipped with sharp teeth at the front of its mouth.
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