Eucnemesaurus

Eucnemesaurus was an exceptionally robust basal sauropodomorph from the Late Triassic of southern Africa. For several decades after its initial description in 1920, it was often erroneously lumped into Euskelosaurus or interpreted as a giant carnivorous prosauropod. Modern anatomical revisions have confirmed that it is a valid genus closely related to Argentina's Riojasaurus within the family Riojasauridae. Reaching up to ten or eleven metres in length and weighing several tonnes, Eucnemesaurus was one of the largest land animals of its time. Its heavily constructed limbs and broad hips indicate that it had transitioned to an obligate four-legged stance, carrying its bulky torso across Triassic floodplains. As a high-volume herbivore, it browsed extensively on conifers, cycads, and seed ferns, foreshadowing the immense ecological dominance that true sauropods would establish in the Jurassic.

Originally classified as an early giant predatory dinosaur due to its massive, robust limb bones.

Where and when

Eucnemesaurus lived in the Late Triassic, from 228 to 210 million years ago (Carnian-Norian age). Its remains come from South Africa, in the Lower Elliot Formation.

The numbers

Length 10 m (estimates run from 9 to 11 m). Mass about 2.8 t. Hip height about 2.5 m. That is 5.9 human-lengths, or 0.89 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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