Genus
Valid Extinct

Plateosaurus

Meyer 1837
Etymology Reptile plat

Plateosaurus is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic epoch of the Triassic period, around 214 to 204 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Europe. Plateosaurus is a basal (early) sauropodomorph dinosaur, a so-called "prosauropod". The type species is Plateosaurus trossingensis; before 2019, that honor was given to Plateosaurus engelhardti, but it was ruled as undiagnostic by the ICZN. Currently, there are three valid species; in addition to P. trossingensis, P. longiceps and P. gracilis are also known. However, others have been assigned in the past, and there is no broad consensus on the species taxonomy of plateosaurid dinosaurs. Similarly, there are a plethora of synonyms at the genus level.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
36
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Terrestrial
Plateosaurus
click to enlarge
Plateosaurus engelhardti skeletons "Skelett 2" on exhibit at the museum of the Institute for Geosciences of the Eberhard-Karls-University Tübingen, Germany. "Skelett 2" is a composite from 2 individuals from Trossingen, Germany. Mounts created under the direction of Friedrich von Huene. © FunkMonk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
›
Saurischia Unranked clade
›
Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
›
Plateosauridae Family
›
Plateosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
5 m ⓘ
Plateosaurus gracilis — min connu
9,4 m ⓘ
Plateosaurus engelhardti — max connu
7 m ⓘ
Mass
2 600 kg ⓘ
Plateosaurus engelhardti — min connu
330 kg ⓘ
Plateosaurus gracilis — max connu
Fossil sites 36 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇩🇪 Germany
22
🇫🇷 France
6
🇨🇭 Switzerland
3
🇿🇦 South Africa
1
🇦🇷 Argentina
1
🇬🇱 Greenland
1
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
1
🇴🇗 O2
1
Geological formations
Löwenstein
10
Trossingen
8
Klettgau
3
Marnes irisées supérieures
2
Feuerletten
1
Elliot
1
Laguna Colorada
1
Marnes de Châlins
1
Ørsted Dal
1
Grès à Avicula contorta
1
Temporal distribution
Hettangian (201.4–199.5 Ma)
1
Rhaetian (205.7–201.4 Ma)
10
Norian (227.3–205.7 Ma)
25
Species (12)
Plateosaurus elizae 206 Ma
Plateosaurus engelhardti 227 Ma
Plateosaurus erlenbergiensis 206 Ma
Plateosaurus fraasianus subjective synonym of Plateosaurus longiceps 227 Ma
Plateosaurus gracilis 227 Ma
Plateosaurus ingens
Plateosaurus integer subjective synonym of Plateosaurus longiceps 227 Ma
Plateosaurus longiceps 227 Ma
Plateosaurus quenstedti nomen dubium, species not entered Plateosaurus 227 Ma
Plateosaurus reinigeri nomen dubium, species not entered Plateosaurus 227 Ma
Plateosaurus trossingensis 227 Ma
Thecodontosaurus hermannianus subjective synonym of Plateosaurus gracilis 227 Ma
Synonyms (4)
Plateosaurus quenstedti nomen dubium, species not entered Plateosaurus
Plateosaurus reinigeri nomen dubium, species not entered Plateosaurus
Platysaurus subjective synonym of Plateosaurus
Sellosaurus subjective synonym of Plateosaurus
Bibliography
Original description
H. v. Meyer. 1837. Mittheilungen, an Professor Bronn gerichtet [Communications, sent to Professor Bronn]. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde 1837:314-317
Bibliography (25)
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T. M. Scheyer, N. Klein, and S. W. Evers, A.-K. Mautner, B. Pabst. 2022. First evidence of Proganochelys quenstedtii (Testudinata) from the Plateosaurus bonebeds (Norian, Late Triassic) of Frick, Canton Aargau, Switzerland. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 141(17):1-26 DOI ↗
D. Nau, J. N. Lallensack, and U. Bachmann, P. M. Sander. 2020. Postcranial osteology of the first early-stage juvenile skeleton of Plateosaurus trossingensis from the Norian of Frick, Switzerland. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 65(4):679-708 DOI ↗
R. R. Schoch. 2011. Tracing SEEMANN’s dinosaur excavation in the Upper Triassic of Trossingen: his field notes and the present status of the material. Palaeodiversity 4:245-282
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M. Moser. 2003. Plateosaurus engelhardti Meyer, 1837 (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) aus dem Feuerletten (Mittelkeuper; Obertrias) von Bayern. Zitteliana B 24:1-188
A. M. Yates. 2003. The species taxonomy of the sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Löwenstein Formation (Norian, Late Triassic) of Germany. Palaeontology 46(2):317-337 DOI ↗
P. M. Galton. 2001. Prosauropod dinosaurs from the Upper Triassic of Germany. Actas de Las I Jornadas Internacionales Sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y Su Entorno, Salas de Los Infantes, Burgos, Spain, September 1999. Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas, C.A.S.
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P. M. Galton. 2001. Prosauropod dinosaur Sellosaurus gracilis (Upper Triassic, Germany): third sacral vertebra as either a dorsosacral or a caudosacral. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Monatshefte 2001(11):688-704 DOI ↗
P. M. Galton. 1998. The prosauropod dinosaur Plateosaurus (Dimodosaurus) poligniensis (Pidancet & Chopard, 1862) (Upper Triassic, Poligny, France). Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 207(2):255-288 DOI ↗
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P. M. Galton. 1986. Prosauropod dinosaur Plateosaurus (= Gresslyosaurus) (Saurischia: Sauropodomorpha) from the Upper Triassic of Switzerland. Geologica et Palaeontologica 20:167-183
D. M. Martill and A. Dawn. 1986. Fossil vertebrates from new exposures of the Westbury Formation (Upper Triassic) at Newark, Nottinghamshire. Mercian Geologist 10(2):127-133
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F. v. Huene. 1905. Trias-Dinosaurier Europas [European Triassic dinosaurs]. Zeitschrift der Deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft 57:345-349 DOI ↗
H. v. Meyer. 1837. Mittheilungen, an Professor Bronn gerichtet [Communications, sent to Professor Bronn]. Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geognosie, Geologie und Petrefaktenkunde 1837:314-317