Microsoft Dinosaurs
Rhoetosaurus
Rhoetosaurus
Rhoetosaurus

ree-EE-toh-SOR-us name means “Rhoetos lizard”

One of Earth's earliest giants, this Australian sauropod roamed the land before the continents pulled apart!

KindDinosaur Period Jurassic Diet Herbivore

For a sauropod, Rhoetosaurus was small. Still, this Australian dinosaur was three times taller than a human being and around fifty-six feet long! Sauropod fossils have been found in the United States and in Africa, so experts think that these dinosaurs existed before the land masses separated into the continents we know today.

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One of the First Sauropods

One of the First Sauropods

Rhoetosaurus lived about 180 million years ago, making it one of the first sauropod dinosaurs to walk the Earth.

HerrerasaurusA two-legged meat-eater, it has been classified as a primitive dinosaur.
RhoetosaurusSmall for a sauropod, this was one of the earliest sauropods in the Jurassic period.
Tyrannosaurus rexThis carnosaur may have been the most fierce of the Late Cretaceous dinosaurs.
One of the last?Brachiosaurus, on the other hand, lived well into the Cretaceous period, dying out about 128 million years ago.
From a Big Family

From a Big Family

The sauropod family of dinosaurs was a group of very big animals. As you can see, Rhoetosaurus was petite in comparison to its relatives.

Family resemblanceRhoetosaurus had a lot in common with its more famous sauropod cousins, like Apatosaurus. Both had powerful, whip-like tails, barrel-shaped bodies, and long necks topped by tiny heads.
Peaceful Plant-Eater

Peaceful Plant-Eater

Although sauropods such as Rhoetosaurus were huge creatures, they were gentle herbivores, or plant-eaters. They had blunt, rounded teeth instead of the sharp teeth needed to eat meat.

Constant chompersSauropods, like Diplodocus, probably spent most of the day browsing for food. They ate bushels of food each day just to maintain their enormous bodies.

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How to Recognize Sauropods The Jurassic Period The Biggest Dinosaurs Barosaurus

Source: Microsoft Dinosaurs (1993) CD-ROM. Text liberated from original screen art; images & audio restored from disc. Original media is Microsoft/supplier copyright — non-commercial educational preservation. Credits & Acknowledgements