Page 58 - DINOSOUR ATLAS

SyntarSUS SoUtHern africa toDay VeGetation
This dinosaur was one of the first The Southern Plateau dominates the The region’s plants were
Jurassic carnivores. A fast-moving region. This is a vast area of flat, high dominated by palmlike cycads as
hunter, it had sharp, biting teeth, ground, 3,000–5,000 ft (900–1,500 m) tall as trees. Ferns and horsetails
and long fingers to grip prey. above sea level, which gradually were on the ground.
falls away to a lowland coastal zone.
There are a variety of climates, from
tropical wet and dry, to arid or
semiarid, and even desert.

VUlcanoDon
A plant-eater, Vulcanodon swallowed its food
whole. Small stones in its stomach would
have helped digest the tough plant material.

Backward-pointing teeth of
Syntarsus made it impossible
for prey, such as this
Megazostrodon,
to wriggle free

MaSSoSPonDylUS
This dinosaur may have
used its hands for holding
food and for walking.

HeteroDontoSaUrUS
The agile Heterodontosaurus had
leSotHoSaUrUS three different types of teeth for
biting, grinding, and tearing food.
In hot weather, Lesothosaurus
may have kept cool by
going underground. The
evidence comes from
fossils found in a burrow. DiPHyDontoSaUrUS
The area’s meat-eaters probably hunted
this small lizardlike reptile. It would
have used speed to escape from them.