GnathostomataDinosauriformes

Marasuchus lilloensis

Marasuchus lilloensis skeletal reconstruction, left lateral view, length 60 cm.
Scale bar = 10 centimeters
Taxon
Marasuchus lilloensis (Romer, 1972)
Also known as
Lagosuchus lilloensis
Reconstructed length
60 cm (2 feet)
View
Left lateral
Drawing
© Scott Hartman
Drawn
2015, revised 2016
Clade
  1. Gnathostomata
  2. Tetrapoda
  3. Amniota
  4. Sauropsida
  5. Archosauromorpha
  6. Archosauria
  7. Avemetatarsalia
  8. Dinosauriformes

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A Middle-to-Late Triassic dinosauriform from Argentina, Marasuchus was a small, slender animal usually found close to the origin of dinosaurs, without being a dinosaur itself. With their long forelimbs these basal dinosauriforms may have alternated between four-legged bounding and two-legged striding. Marasuchus lilloensis is sometimes sunk into Lagosuchus talampayensis, a dispute that remains unsettled.