Plateosaurus

dinosaurs · long-necked · triassic · early

Early long-neck. Plateosaurus was a prosauropod, which means it was one of the very first dinosaurs to develop a long neck and tail, paving the way for the truly enormous sauropods that came later.

Ancient times. This dinosaur lived during the Late Triassic period, about 214 to 204 million years ago, when Europe looked very different from today.

European resident. Plateosaurus lived in what is now Central and Northern Europe, making it one of the earliest known large dinosaurs of that continent.

Multiple species. Scientists have identified at least three different species of Plateosaurus (P. trossingensis, P. longiceps, and P. gracilis), though sorting out exactly which fossils belong to which species is still tricky.