Unranked clade
Valid Extinct

Riojasauridae

Yates 2007

Riojasauridae is an extinct family of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Period. It contains the genera Riojasaurus and Eucnemesaurus. The Riojasauridae is considered a stem taxon, and is defined as "the most inclusive clade containing Riojasaurus incertus but not Plateosaurus engelhardti, Massospondylus carinatus, or Anchisaurus polyzelus". Geologic formations containing riojasaurid fossils include the Lower Elliot Formation of Orange Free State, South Africa, and the Los Colorados Formation, in La Rioja Province, Argentina.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
6
Group
Dinosaures
Terrestrial
Riojasauridae
click to enlarge
Riojasaurus skull cast, Copenhagen. © FunkMonk · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Saurischia Unranked clade
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Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
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Massopoda Unranked clade
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Riojasauridae Unranked clade
Fossil sites 6 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇿🇦 South Africa
4
🇦🇷 Argentina
2
Geological formations
Elliot
4
Los Colorados
2
Temporal distribution
Norian (227.3–205.7 Ma)
6
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
A. M. Yates. 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology 19(1):93-123 DOI ↗
Bibliography (6)
B. W. McPhee, J. N. Choiniere, and A. M. Yates, P. A. Viglietti. 2015. A second species of Eucnemesaurus Van Hoepen, 1920 (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha): new information on the diversity and evolution of the sauropodomorph fauna of South Africa's lower Elliot Formation (latest Triassic). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35(5):e980504:1-24 DOI ↗
A. M. Yates. 2007. Solving a dinosaurian puzzle: the identity of Aliwalia rex Galton. Historical Biology 19(1):93-123 DOI ↗
J. F. Bonaparte and J. A. Pumares. 1995. Notas sobre el primer craneo de Riojasaurus incertus (Dinosauria, Prosauropoda, Melanorosauridae) del Triasico Superior de La Rioja, Argentina [Notes on the first skull and jaws of Riojasaurus incertus (Dinosauria, Prosauropoda, Melanorosauridae), Late Triassic of La Rioja, Argentina]. Ameghiniana 32(4):341-349
P. M. Galton. 1985. The poposaurid thecodontian Teratosaurus suevicus v. Meyer, plus referred specimens mostly based on prosauropod dinosaurs, from the Middle Stubensandstein (Upper Triassic) of Nordwürttemberg. Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde, Serie B (Geologie und Paläontologie) 116:1-29
J. F. Bonaparte. 1969. Dos nuevas "faunas" de reptiles triasicos de Argentina [Two new reptilian "faunas" of the Argentine Triassic]. Gondwana Stratigraphy (IUGS Symposium, Buenos Aires) 2:283-306
E. C. N. Van Hoepen. 1920. Contributions to the knowledge of the reptiles of the Karroo Formation. 6. Further dinosaurian material in the Transvaal Museum. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 7(2):93-141