Sauropods

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest creatures to walk the earth. These quadrupedal dinosaurs are characterized by their long neck and tail. Literally translated sauropod means ‘lizard feet’. These massive animals first appeared in the Late Triassic around 227 MYA, flourished throughout the Jurassic, and died out at the end of the Cretaceous. Like the theropods, sauropods were saurischian (lizard hipped) dinosaurs. These two groups of dinosaurs also shared very similar bone histology and respiratory systems. Sauropods and theropods, although very different, are more closely related to each other, than to ornithischian dinosaurs like Triceratops, Edmontosaurus and Stegosaurus.