Triassic
dinosaurs were fewer and less evolved than the later
dinosaurs.
Although dinosaur age was the Mesozoic era which covers Triassic,
Jurassic and Cretaceous
periods, dinosaurs didn't actually start evolving before towards the
end
of the Triassic period.
During the Triassic,
the world's continents
were still all joined in the supercontinent Pangaea.
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That means there
were no water barriers and all the dinosaurs could roam the whole area.
The remains of triassic dinosaurs that we find today, are therefore
similar on all continents.
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The dinosaur evolution was in its beginning
and although there were many different
species of dinosaurs, they were not
nearly as numerous as those from Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. Some
of the earliest Triassic dinosaurs were Placodonts
- swimming reptiles like Paraplacodus, Placodus, Cyamodus and Henodus,
which appeared in mid-Triassic and became extinct in the end of
Triassic.
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Larger water creatures included Ichthyosaurs and Nothosaurs.
Icthyosaurs were fish-lizards which are mostly known from Jurassic
period, but there are many early shapes of them in Triassic. Many were
eel- and whale-shaped, before their classic dolphin-shape became
common.
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Nothosaurs are the early ancestors of plesiosaurs
- the dinosaurs' world's "seals and sea lions". Nothosaurs were not as
well adapted to the water as were plesiosaurs, but they were the most
abundant fish-catchers of the time. Pterosaurs,
the first flying dinosaurs, evolved in late Triassic. These included
Sharovipteryx, Eudimorphodon, Peteinosaurus, Prenodactylus and others.
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Carnivorous Theropods
such as Eoraptor, Herrerasaurus, Staurikosaurus and Chindesaurus are
believed to be the earliest land dinosaurs. Other early threopods
included Aliwalia, Shuvosaurus, Gojirasaurus, Liliensternus, and
Coelophysids such as Procompsoghnatus, Camposaurus, Coelophysis and
Eucoelophysis. Coelophysids
were the most widespread meat eaters in late Triassic.
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Carnivorous
dinosaurs developed a fast-moving life style - light slim bodies,
powerful hind legs, sharp teeth and claws, and they moved on two legs.
The plant eaters on the other hand developed long necks to reach the
food up the trees, long tails (sometimes with a whip in the end, or
other armours); and massive bodies so heavy that most of them had to
walk on four legs. Primitive Sauropodomorphs such as Saturnalia,
Thecodontosaurus, Efraasia and Sellosaurus were the first plant-eating
dinosaurs. True Prosauropods
such as Euskelosaurus, Blikanasaurus and Plateosaurus were the main
plant-eaters of late triassic times.
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Other Prosauropods included
Lessemsaurus, Riojasaurus, Camelotia and Melanorosaurus. At the end of
Triassic period, a totally new group of dinosaurs evolved - the
bird-hipped dinosaurs, (as opposed to the old lizard-hipped dinosaurs
above), aka Ornithischians. The most common
Ornithischians were Ornithopods,
but the group also included the spectacular armoured dinosaurs. The
first Ornithischians, which evolved during the Triassic, were
Pisanosaurus, Technosaurus, Antetonitrus and Isanosaurus.
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