Riojasaurids Temporal range: Late Triassic,
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Riojasaurus skull cast | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | †Massopoda |
Clade: | †Riojasauridae Yates, 2007 |
Genera | |
Riojasauridae is an extinct family of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Late Triassic Period (late Carnian to Norian Ages). It contains the genera Riojasaurus and Eucnemesaurus. The Riojasauridae is considered a stem taxon, and is defined as "the most inclusive clade containing Riojasaurus incertus but not Plateosaurus engelhardti, Massospondylus carinatus, or Anchisaurus polyzelus".[1] Geologic formations containing riojasaurid fossils include the Lower Elliot Formation of Orange Free State, South Africa (where fossils of Eucnemesaurus have been found), and the Los Colorados Formation, in La Rioja Province, Argentina (where fossils of Riojasaurus have been recovered).[1]