Eoraptor lunensis

Eoraptor lunensis

Eoraptor lunensis was quite possibly the very first dinosaur.  It lived in the late Triassic period in what is now South America.  Of course at the time there was only ONE continent.  Eoraptor was only about a yard or a meter or so long.  It had teeth that indicated that it possibly was omnivorous. . . it ate both meat and plants.  That would make sense because over millions of years its decendants evolved into both Theropods or carnivores and the many types of herbivores.   Of course there is a possibility that Eoraptor was just the ancestor of the Theropods.  That would be the case if the herbivore line had already branched off.

An interesting fact is that it had five fingers on each hand.  The presence of five digits is evidence of evolution.  It had not yet evolved to have just two or three fingers.  But notice that the last two fingers are noticeably smaller.  This indicates that those fingers were evolving away.   Most (but not all) of the later Theropod dinosaurs had just two or three fingers on each hand.

My wife and I are visiting family in South Carolina, USA.  We went to Clemson's University's Bob Campbell Geology Museum in Clemson, South Carolina.  This drawing was inspired by an excellent sculpture there at the museum.  It was done by R. Spears. 

Eoraptor Sculpture from Bob Campbell Geology Museum at Clemson University by R. Spears

NOTE:  This drawing is available in printable form by clicking on the buttons up top labeled either:

All Printables . . . . or . . . . Paleontology.   Remember to scroll down because the newer drawings are at the bottom of the lists of drawings.