Mussaurus

Mussaurus was a dinosaur lived in the Triassic Period, making it one of the earliest dinosaurs, and is believed to belong to the family of dinosaurs from which the huge sauropods eventually evolved. Mussaurus was unlike its huge descendants, however, as it was a small, fast plant-eater.

Mussaurus was found in the mid 1970s and named in 1979 by Jose Bonaparte and Martin Vince. Mussaurus got its name because the first specimens found were babies in a nest and they were about the size of a mouse. Since then, sub-adults and adults have been found that scientists believe are the same species. These specimens show that Mussaurus grew to around 3 metres (10 ft) long. At the time of Mussaurus’ discovery, very few dinosaur babies and nests had been found. A lot of information about dinosaur social behavior and the rearing of their young resulted from their discovery. Mussaurus were prosauropods and are thought to hold clues to the origins of the sauropods.