Riojasaurus
ree-OH-hah-SORE-us /riˌoʊhɑˈsɔːrəs/
Accepted genus
La Rioja lizard
- Rioja · Spanish (place name) · La Rioja Province, Argentina
- sauros · Greek · lizard
Riojasaurus means "La Rioja lizard". It is named after La Rioja Province in northwestern Argentina, where its fossils were found, combined with the Greek word for lizard. It was a large, early long-necked plant-eating dinosaur, a sauropodomorph.
- Named by
- Bonaparte
- Year named
- 1969
- Period
- Late Triassic
- Stage
- Norian
- Found in
- Los Colorados Formation, La Rioja Province, Argentina
A basal sauropodomorph (often placed among the massopodans/riojasaurids), not a true sauropod.