Page 64 - The Dinosaur Book and Other Wonders of the Prehistoric World (DK-Smithsonian)
P. 64

Prosauropods








                               Fossils of this giant
                                 prosauropod were
                                  found in La Rioja
                                Province, Argentina.




                                                       Riojasaurus                        Set within its jaws were small,
                                                                                          leaf-shaped teeth that had serrated
                                                                                          edges to help slice through vegetation.
                                                                    Massospondylus











                                                                                                     The long, flexible
                                                                                                        neck was well
                                                                                                    adapted for browsing
                                                                                                        on tree foliage.


                                              The strong back
                                            legs supported all of
                                            the dinosaur’s weight,
                                            leaving its hands free.













                            Seitaad




                                                The remains of Seitaad,                 A heavy tail balanced the
                                                meaning “sand monster” in the           dinosaur’s body at the hips,
                                                Navajo language, were found                enabling it to reach up
                                                near the Grand Canyon.                       into the trees easily.





           Soon after the evolution of the first                them reach into trees, but their heads stayed
           dinosaurs in the middle Triassic (around             relatively small. One of the earliest, Saturnalia,
           230–225 million years ago), dinosaurs                was only about 6 ft (1.8 m) long, but its relatives
           began to diversify into species with                 were to get a lot bigger; by the late Triassic,
           different lifestyles. Some specialized in eating     Riojasaurus was about 33 ft (10 m) long and
    62     plants. They evolved long necks that helped          weighed as much as an elephant. These





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