Genus
Valid Extinct

Herrerasaurus

Reig 1963
Etymology Lézard d'Herrera

Herrerasaurus is likely a genus of saurischian dinosaur from the Late Triassic period. Measuring 6 m (20 ft) long and weighing around 350 kg (770 lb), this genus was one of the earliest dinosaurs from the fossil record. Its name means "Herrera's lizard", after the rancher who discovered the first specimen in 1958 in South America. All known fossils of this carnivore have been discovered in the Ischigualasto Formation of Carnian age in northwestern Argentina. The type species, Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis, was described by Osvaldo Reig in 1963 and is the only species assigned to the genus. Ischisaurus and Frenguellisaurus are synonyms.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
11
Group
Dinosaures
Terrestrial
Herrerasaurus
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Skeleton of Herrerasaurus © ★Kumiko★ · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Saurischia Unranked clade
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Herrerasauridae Family
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Herrerasaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
3 m ⓘ
Fossil sites 11 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇦🇷 Argentina
11
Geological formations
Ischigualasto
11
Temporal distribution
Carnian (237–227.3 Ma)
11
Species (3)
Frenguellisaurus ischigualastensis subjective synonym of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis 237 Ma
Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis 237 Ma
Ischisaurus cattoi subjective synonym of Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis 237 Ma
Synonyms (2)
Frenguellisaurus subjective synonym of Herrerasaurus
Ischisaurus subjective synonym of Herrerasaurus
Images 3
Bibliography
Original description
O. A. Reig. 1963. La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los "Estratos de Ischigualasto" (Mesotriasico Superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (República Argentina) [The presence of saurischian dinosaurs in the "Ischigualasto beds" (upper Middle Triassic) of San Juan and La Rioja Provinces (Argentine Republic)]. Ameghiniana 3(1):3-20
Bibliography (6)
K. T. Hollocher, O. A. Alcober, and C. E. Colombi, T. C. Hollocher. 2005. Carnivore coprolites from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation, Argentina: chemistry, mineralogy, and evidence for rapid initial mineralization. Palaios 20(1):51-63 DOI ↗
P. C. Sereno and F. E. Novas. 1994. The skull and neck of the basal theropod Herrerasaurus ischigualastensis. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 13(4):451-476 DOI ↗
P. C. Sereno, C. A. Forster, and R. R. Rogers, A. M. Monetta. 1993. Primitive dinosaur skeleton from Argentina and the early evolution of Dinosauria. Nature 361:64-66 DOI ↗
P. C. Sereno and F. E. Novas. 1992. The complete skull and skeleton of an early dinosaur. Science 258:1137-1140 DOI ↗
F. E. Novas. 1986. Un probable teropodo (Saurischia) de la Formacion Ischigualasto (Triasico Superior), San Juan, Argentina [A probable theropod (Saurischia) from the Ischigualasto Formation (Upper Triassic), San Juan, Argentina]. IV Congreso Argentino de Paleontologia y Bioestratigrafia 1:1-6
O. A. Reig. 1963. La presencia de dinosaurios saurisquios en los "Estratos de Ischigualasto" (Mesotriasico Superior) de las provincias de San Juan y La Rioja (República Argentina) [The presence of saurischian dinosaurs in the "Ischigualasto beds" (upper Middle Triassic) of San Juan and La Rioja Provinces (Argentine Republic)]. Ameghiniana 3(1):3-20