Kotasaurus

Taxobox
name = "Kotasaurus"
status = Fossil


image_width=240px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Saurischia
subordo = Sauropodomorpha
infraordo = Sauropoda
family =
genus = "Kotasaurus"
genus_authority = Yadagiri, 1988
species = "K. yamanpalliensis"

"Kotasaurus" (pronEng|ˌkoʊtəˈsɔrəs KOHT-ah-SAWR-us) (meaning "Kota [Formation] lizard") is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Jurassic period, about 208 million to 188 million years ago. It was an early sauropod, sharing some similarities with prosauropods. Its fossils were found in 1988, in India, near a place called Yemanapalli, in the state of Andhra Pradesh.

It is the most primitive known sauropod, and is similar to prosauropods in some ways (the hip bones). This quadrupedal plant-eater was about 30 feet (9 meters) long. It had a bulky body, a long tail and a long neck. It is known from a partial skeleton found in India (with no skull). [ [http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/dinosaurs/glossary/indexk.shtml Dinosaur and Paleontology Dictionary] ]

The type species, "Kotasaurus yamanpalliensis", was described by P. Yadagiri in 1988.

The Geological Survey of India restored the skeletal remains of this giant skeleton and displayed at Birla Science Museum, Hyderabad.

References

* http://www.dinoruss.com/de_4/5a6bd48.htm