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171 / Mesozoic
Eoraptor
Eoraptor lunensis
A lightly built one-meter animal ran on two legs with both sharp and leaf-shaped teeth in its jaws.
Structured expansion · editorial review pending
- Time range
- About 231–228 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Triassic
- Geographic range
- Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina
01 / ANSWER FIRST
What was Eoraptor?
This archive records Eoraptor under the scientific name Eoraptor lunensis, with an age of About 231–228 million years ago and a range of Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina. A lightly built one-meter animal ran on two legs with both sharp and leaf-shaped teeth in its jaws.
Eoraptor lived as dinosaurs were first diverging. Its long tail balanced the body and five-fingered hands could grasp; mixed teeth suggest a diet of small animals and plants.
02 / QUICK FACTS
Eoraptor at a glance
- Scientific name
- Eoraptor lunensis
- Age
- About 231–228 million years ago
- Last recorded stage
- Late Triassic
- Known range
- Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina
- Broad group
- dinosaur
- Archive era
- Mesozoic
- Habitat signals
- vegetation, prey communities, floodplains and regional climate
- Documented regions
- South America
03 / ANATOMY
How was Eoraptor built?
Overall body plan
A lightly built one-meter animal ran on two legs with both sharp and leaf-shaped teeth in its jaws.
Skull, teeth and display structures
The available record is interpreted through preserved proportions, attachment surfaces, wear and comparison with related organisms. For Eoraptor, those observations must be separated from features added only for visual reconstruction.
Limbs, balance and locomotion
Eoraptor lived as dinosaurs were first diverging. Its long tail balanced the body and five-fingered hands could grasp; mixed teeth suggest a diet of small animals and plants.
Growth and individual variation
A single specimen does not define the whole species. Size, maturity, preservation and possible sex differences are considered before anatomical traits are treated as typical of Eoraptor.
04 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
How did Eoraptor live?
Eoraptor lived as dinosaurs were first diverging. Its long tail balanced the body and five-fingered hands could grasp; mixed teeth suggest a diet of small animals and plants. This ecological reconstruction is strongest where anatomy, associated organisms and the depositional setting point in the same direction.
05 / DIET & BEHAVIOUR
What shaped its ecological limits?
Its populations depended on vegetation, prey communities, floodplains and regional climate. Changes in any one factor did not necessarily cause immediate extinction, but interacting pressures could reduce range, recruitment and resilience.
06 / RANGE & HABITAT
Where and when did Eoraptor live?
This archive currently lists About 231–228 million years ago; Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina. Fossil or historical occurrence data describe where evidence has been found, not every place the taxon once occupied. Species-level age and range limits still require source-specific review.
Documented geographic range
Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina. This boundary can change when specimens are reidentified or new localities are published.
Time window
About 231–228 million years ago, with the final recorded stage listed as Late Triassic. Rock units and dating uncertainty mean the true biological range may extend beyond the known record.
Environmental setting
The archive uses the broad habitat labels vegetation, prey communities, floodplains and regional climate. These labels help explore related records; a habitat reconstruction requires evidence from individual localities.
07 / FOSSIL EVIDENCE
What evidence supports reconstructions of Eoraptor?
Primary record
A nearly complete Valley of the Moon skeleton preserves the skull, hands, pelvis and feet, while radiometric dates constrain its evolutionary position.
Comparative anatomy
Preserved structures are compared with close and functionally similar organisms. The method can constrain posture and function, but analogy alone cannot prove colour, behaviour or soft tissue.
Age and locality
Stratigraphy and occurrence records place Eoraptor within About 231–228 million years ago and Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina. Reworked fossils and uncertain provenance are treated cautiously.
Open entity records
Links below connect the archive to available taxonomic and occurrence records. A matching name does not verify every ecological claim, and related-taxon links provide comparison rather than an exact species match.
08 / DISAPPEARANCE & DEBATE
Why did Eoraptor disappear?
Late Triassic climate swings and faunal turnover removed many earliest dinosaur forms as surviving branches specialized.
The last fossil or observation marks the youngest evidence currently known, not necessarily the death of the final individual. Explanations are strongest when timing, environmental change and population biology agree; otherwise the profile preserves uncertainty instead of assigning a single dramatic cause.
09 / FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Eoraptor FAQ
What was Eoraptor?
This archive records Eoraptor under the scientific name Eoraptor lunensis, with an age of About 231–228 million years ago. A lightly built one-meter animal ran on two legs with both sharp and leaf-shaped teeth in its jaws.
When did Eoraptor live?
The current archive range is About 231–228 million years ago; its youngest recorded stage is Late Triassic.
Where was Eoraptor found?
The archive currently lists Seasonal river valleys of southwestern Pangaea · Ischigualasto, Argentina. Species-level locality assignments and the full geographic range still require source-specific review.
How do scientists know about Eoraptor?
A nearly complete Valley of the Moon skeleton preserves the skull, hands, pelvis and feet, while radiometric dates constrain its evolutionary position.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Completed an AI-assisted bilingual audit of the archive record, corrected identified issues and clarified evidence limits; independent editorial review is pending.
- Expanded into a structured bilingual profile with anatomy, ecology, range, evidence, debate and FAQs; independent editorial review is pending.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS