In Depth
Sarahsaurus is currently one of the few known basal sauropodomorphs from North America, with other genera including Anchisaurus and Seitaad. The sauropodomorphs were the forerunners to the later giant sauropods that would become dominant as the Jurassic era progressed on. As a basal sauropodomorph, Sarahsaurus is thought to have been a plant eating dinosaur that could move about in either bipedal (two legged) or quadrupedal (four legged) postures, probably switching between them in order to facilitate such activities as feeding, drinking and walking. At a little over four meters long Sarahsaurus is one of the larger dinosaurs currently known from the Kayenta Formation. However Sarahsaurus may have still been prey to the meat eating dinosaur Dilophosaurus, one of the largest known predators of Early Jurassic North America, fossils for which have also been found in the Kayenta Formation.
The genus name Sarahsaurus is in honour of Sarah Butler. The species name means ‘gold of the spring’ after Gold Spring, Arizona where the holotype fossils were found.
Further Reading
– Dispersal and diversity in the earliest North American sauropodomorph dinosaurs, with a description of a new taxon. – Timothy B. Rowe, Hans-Dieter Sues & Robert R. Reisz – 2011. – Anatomy and systematics of the sauropodomorph Sarahsaurus aurifontanalis from the Early Jurassic Kayenta Formation. – Plos One – Adam D. Marsh & Timothy B. Rowe – 2018.
