Ruehleia

Roo-le-ah.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Ruehleia ‭(‬Ruehle lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Roo-le-ah.

Named By

Peter M.‭ ‬Galton‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001.

Classification

Chodata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha,‭ ‬Prosauropoda.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

R.‭ ‬bedheimensis‭

Size

About‭ ‬8‭ ‬meteres long.

Known locations

Germany‭ ‬-‭ ‬Trossingen Formation‭

Time Period

Late Norian/Early Rhaetian of the Triassic.

Fossil representation

Almost complete skeleton.

In Depth

       Ruehleia was a sauropodomorph,‭ ‬the group of dinosaurs that were ancestral to the huge quadrupedal‭ ‬sauropods that would begin to appear and diversify during the Jurassic.‭ ‬As a prosauropod,‭ ‬Ruehleia was still easily able to get about upon just the hind legs,‭ ‬though it quite possibly went down on all fours during feeding and drinking.‭ ‬The Ruehleia holotype was recovered from the Trossingen Formation of Germany which is usually credited with being late Norian in age,‭ ‬though it verges into the early Rhaetian.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬The prosauropod dinosaur Plateosaurus Meyer,‭ ‬1837‭ (‬Saurischia:‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha‭; ‬Upper Triassic‭)‬.‭ ‬II.‭ ‬Notes on the referred species,‭ ‬Peter M.‭ ‬Galton‭ ‬-‭ ‬2001.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT