Early Jurassic

Geological interval

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Restoration of Early Jurassic environment preserved at the SGDS, with the theropod Dilophosaurus wetherilli in bird-like resting pose, demonstrating the manufacture of SGDS.18.T1 resting trace.

Restoration of Early Jurassic environment preserved at the SGDS, with the theropod Dilophosaurus wetherilli in bird-like resting pose, demonstrating the manufacture of SGDS.18.T1 resting trace.

Early Jurassic Jurassic Dilophosaurus Neotheropoda +1
Adeopapposaurus mognai, Early Jurassic of Argentina. Digital.
Taxa Massospondylidae

Adeopapposaurus mognai, Early Jurassic of Argentina. Digital.

Argentina Early Jurassic Jurassic Adeopapposaurus +2
Macroplata tenuiceps, a pliosaur from the Early Jurassic of Europe, pencil drawing
Taxa Macroplata

Macroplata tenuiceps, a pliosaur from the Early Jurassic of Europe, pencil drawing

drawing Early Jurassic Jurassic Macroplata +1
reconstruction of the Early Jurassic sauropod Perijasaurus lapaz.
Taxa Perijasaurus

reconstruction of the Early Jurassic sauropod Perijasaurus lapaz.

Early Jurassic Jurassic Perijasaurus
The type specimen of the ichnogenus Cheliceratichnus, from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation of Holyoke, Massachusetts.

The type specimen of the ichnogenus Cheliceratichnus, from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation of Holyoke, Massachusetts.

East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic specimen +1
Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

scale East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic +3
Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

Bifurculapes laqueatus trackway (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). See coin (1 U.S. cent, 19.05 mm in diameter) for scale.

scale East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic +3
A trackway of the trace fossil Bifurculapes laqueatus (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). Scale is in cm.
Formations East Berlin

A trackway of the trace fossil Bifurculapes laqueatus (positive hyporelief, i.e. casts on the bottom surface of the bed) from the Early Jurassic East Berlin Formation (Hartford Basin) of Holyoke, Massachusetts (not the same specimen as this one). Scale is in cm.

scale East Berlin Early Jurassic Jurassic +4
Attenborosaurus conybeari, a plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic of England, pencil drawing
Taxa Dactylosaurus

Attenborosaurus conybeari, a plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic of England, pencil drawing

drawing Early Jurassic Jurassic Attenborosaurus +5
Attenborosaurus conybeari, a plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic of England, pencil drawing
Taxa Eromangasaurus

Attenborosaurus conybeari, a plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic of England, pencil drawing

drawing Early Jurassic Jurassic Attenborosaurus +5
Attenborosaurus conybeari, a plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic of England, pencil drawing
Taxa Eurycleidus

Attenborosaurus conybeari, a plesiosaur from the Early Jurassic of England, pencil drawing

drawing Early Jurassic Jurassic Attenborosaurus +5
Pantydraco caducus, a sauropodomorph from the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic of England, after Yates, 2003, pencil drawing, digital coloring
Taxa Pantydraco

Pantydraco caducus, a sauropodomorph from the Late Triassic or Early Jurassic of England, after Yates, 2003, pencil drawing, digital coloring

drawing Early Jurassic Jurassic Late Triassic +3
Sarcosaurus diagram of known material: reconstruction based on basal Ceratosaurs (such as Berberosaurus and Saltriovenator). The Skull was made to look more generic and less like more derived Ceratosaurs such as Ceratosaurus. "Liassaurus", referred to "cf. Sarcosaurus woodi" and is smaller than the holotype: material in light grey is preserved, but to what extent is uncertain as it is not figured.
References:
Carrano and Sampson (2004). "A review of coelophysoids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of Europe, with comments on the late history of the Coelophysoidea." N. Jb. Geol. Palaont. Mh., 2004(9): 537-558. (for figures of the material)
theropoddatabase.com/Coelophysoidea.htm#Sarcosauruswoodi (for measurements of "Liassaurus")

Allain, Ronan & Tykoski, Ronald & Aquesbi, Najat & Jalil, Nour-Eddine & Monbaron, Michel & Russell, Dale & Taquet, Philippe. (2007). An abelisauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, and the radiation of Ceratosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27. 10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[610:AADTFT]2.0.CO;2. (for measurements for Berberosaurus)
Taxa Sarcosaurus

Sarcosaurus diagram of known material: reconstruction based on basal Ceratosaurs (such as Berberosaurus and Saltriovenator). The Skull was made to look more generic and less like more derived Ceratosaurs such as Ceratosaurus. "Liassaurus", referred to "cf. Sarcosaurus woodi" and is smaller than the holotype: material in light grey is preserved, but to what extent is uncertain as it is not figured. References: Carrano and Sampson (2004). "A review of coelophysoids (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of Europe, with comments on the late history of the Coelophysoidea." N. Jb. Geol. Palaont. Mh., 2004(9): 537-558. (for figures of the material) theropoddatabase.com/Coelophysoidea.htm#Sarcosauruswoodi (for measurements of "Liassaurus") Allain, Ronan & Tykoski, Ronald & Aquesbi, Najat & Jalil, Nour-Eddine & Monbaron, Michel & Russell, Dale & Taquet, Philippe. (2007). An abelisauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Early Jurassic of the High Atlas Mountains, Morocco, and the radiation of Ceratosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27. 10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[610:AADTFT]2.0.CO;2. (for measurements for Berberosaurus)

Morocco Early Jurassic Jurassic holotype +8
Megapnosaurus is a coelophysid theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Period of Africa. It was a lightly built bipedal carnivore that grew to just over 2 m long and 13 kg in body mass. Its close relation to Coelophysis has caused some confusion in classifying the genus - it had a slender build and curved S-shaped neck, but was more robust. Comparisons between the scleral rings of Megapnosaurus and modern birds and reptiles indicate that it may have been nocturnal.
Taxa Megapnosaurus

Megapnosaurus is a coelophysid theropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Period of Africa. It was a lightly built bipedal carnivore that grew to just over 2 m long and 13 kg in body mass. Its close relation to Coelophysis has caused some confusion in classifying the genus - it had a slender build and curved S-shaped neck, but was more robust. Comparisons between the scleral rings of Megapnosaurus and modern birds and reptiles indicate that it may have been nocturnal.

Early Jurassic Jurassic Coelophysidae Coelophysis +3
In 2000 a virtually complete Scelidosaurus skeleton was discovered in England. This fossil's hundreds of armor plates and spikes are preserved in their life positions, providing extraordinary details about how this dinosaur looked. St. George is the only place anywhere in the Western Hemisphere that the 11-foot long Scelidosaurus replica has been on display.
The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm (St. George, Utah) is home to exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur tracks, some displaying skin impressions. These tracks, along with hundreds of fossil fish, plants, rare dinosaur remains, invertebrates traces and important sedimentary structures, show evidence that this site was produced along the western edge of a large, Early Jurassic (age between 195-198 million years ago) freshwater lake named Lake Dixie. 

Source: www.sgcity.org/dinotrax/
Taxa Scelidosaurus

In 2000 a virtually complete Scelidosaurus skeleton was discovered in England. This fossil's hundreds of armor plates and spikes are preserved in their life positions, providing extraordinary details about how this dinosaur looked. St. George is the only place anywhere in the Western Hemisphere that the 11-foot long Scelidosaurus replica has been on display. The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm (St. George, Utah) is home to exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur tracks, some displaying skin impressions. These tracks, along with hundreds of fossil fish, plants, rare dinosaur remains, invertebrates traces and important sedimentary structures, show evidence that this site was produced along the western edge of a large, Early Jurassic (age between 195-198 million years ago) freshwater lake named Lake Dixie. Source: www.sgcity.org/dinotrax/

armor Early Jurassic Jurassic fossil +6
In 2000 a virtually complete Scelidosaurus skeleton was discovered in England. This fossil's hundreds of armor plates and spikes are preserved in their life positions, providing extraordinary details about how this dinosaur looked. St. George is the only place anywhere in the Western Hemisphere that the 11-foot long Scelidosaurus replica has been on display.
The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm (St. George, Utah) is home to exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur tracks, some displaying skin impressions. These tracks, along with hundreds of fossil fish, plants, rare dinosaur remains, invertebrates traces and important sedimentary structures, show evidence that this site was produced along the western edge of a large, Early Jurassic (age between 195-198 million years ago) freshwater lake named Lake Dixie. 

Source: www.sgcity.org/dinotrax/
Taxa Scelidosauridae

In 2000 a virtually complete Scelidosaurus skeleton was discovered in England. This fossil's hundreds of armor plates and spikes are preserved in their life positions, providing extraordinary details about how this dinosaur looked. St. George is the only place anywhere in the Western Hemisphere that the 11-foot long Scelidosaurus replica has been on display. The St. George Dinosaur Discovery Site at Johnson Farm (St. George, Utah) is home to exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur tracks, some displaying skin impressions. These tracks, along with hundreds of fossil fish, plants, rare dinosaur remains, invertebrates traces and important sedimentary structures, show evidence that this site was produced along the western edge of a large, Early Jurassic (age between 195-198 million years ago) freshwater lake named Lake Dixie. Source: www.sgcity.org/dinotrax/

armor Early Jurassic Jurassic fossil +6

News

Early Sauropodomorph Dinosaur Unearthed in China
Early Sauropodomorph Dinosaur Unearthed in China
China Early Jurassic Jurassic Dinosauria Massopoda new species partial skeleton
A new genus and species of massopodan sauropodomorph that lived during the Early Jurassic epoch has been identified from a partial skeleton unearthed in southwestern China. The post Early Sauropodomorph Dinosaur Unearthed in China appeared first on Sci.News: Breaking Science News.
04/05/2026 sci-news
Lepidotes: Beast of the Week
Lepidotes: Beast of the Week
scale reconstitution Cretaceous Early Cretaceous Early Jurassic Jurassic Dinosauria
 This wee we will look at a unique kind of prehistoric fish that swam in rivers and lakes while some of the largest dinosaurs walked on land.  Check out Lepidotes!Watercolor reconstruction of Lepidotes gigas by Christopher DiPiazza.Lepidotes was a genus of heavily scaled bony fish that lived in what is now Europe and North America during the early Jurassic between 180 and 175 million years ago.  The genus may have even persisted into the Early Cretaceous, as recent as 115 million years ago, but
29/06/2025 prehistoricbeastoftheweek