Barapasaurus

Barapasaurus is an iconic early sauropod dinosaur from the Early to Middle Jurassic Kota Formation of Telangana and Maharashtra, India. Discovered during excavations by the Indian Statistical Institute, its genus name derives from Bengali words meaning big leg, referring to its massive femur measuring well over one metre. Growing to an estimated twelve to fourteen metres long and weighing around eight tonnes, Barapasaurus lived in gregarious herds browsing riverside forests. Its spoon-shaped teeth possessed coarse serrations ideally suited for stripping tough leaves and twigs. As an early gravisaurian, it combines primitive vertebral characteristics with fully columnar, graviportal limbs, offering pivotal evidence for the early radiation of eusauropod lineages across southern continents.

Over three hundred bones from at least six individuals were unearthed from a single bone bed.

Where and when

Barapasaurus lived in the Early Jurassic, from 190 to 175 million years ago (Sinemurian-Toarcian age). Its remains come from India, in the Kota Formation.

The numbers

Length 13 m (estimates run from 12 to 14 m). Mass about 8.4 t. Hip height about 3.5 m. That is 7.6 human-lengths, or 1.16 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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