Kotasaurus - Meaning: Kota Lizard
Kotasaurus (KOE-ta-SORE-us) is the name given to a genus of sauropod dinosaur. Kotasaurus lived in the woodlands of India in the Hettangian - Pliensbachian stages during the Lower Jurassic Period 205 - 180 million years ago. Kotasaurus is the most primitive known sauropod and is similar to prosauropods in some ways (the hip bones). Huge herbivorous dinosaurs first appeared during the Jurassic. They evolved from early plant eaters called Prosauropods who appeared during the final stages of the Triassic period around 225 million years ago.
Kotasaurus Characteristics
Kotasaurus measured 30 feet (9 metres) in length, 10 feet (3 metres) in height and weighed around 2 tons. Kotasaurus had a bulky body, a long neck, a long tail and relatively thin legs. Its hind legs were larger than its fore legs and it had a small head.
Like all sauropods, Kotasaurus was an herbivore. However, no skull has yet been recovered and so its exact diet has not been determined. A few lone teeth are known but not sufficient to discover its diet. However, it may have fed upon plant material and would have had to eat a huge amount in order to sustain itself.
Kotasaurus fossils were found in 1988, in India, near a place called Yemanpallis, in the state of Andhra Pradesh. It is known from a partial skeleton found in India (with no skull).
KOTASAURUS CLASSIFICATION: |
|
Kingdom: |
Animalia (animals) |
Phylum: |
Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain) |
Class: |
Sauropsida |
Superorder: |
Dinosauria |
Order: |
Saurischia - lizard-hipped dinosaurs |
Suborder: |
Sauropodomorpha |
Infraorder: |
Sauropoda |
Genus: |
Kotasaurus |
Species: |
K. yamanpalliensis, Yadagiri, 1988 |
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