Barapasaurus
| Key | Value |
|---|---|
| Name Meaning | “big-legged lizard” |
| Location | India |
| Time Period | c. 185 million years ago (Early Jurassic) |
| Length | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Weight | 7.5 tons (6,850 kg) |
| Locomotion | Quadruped |
| Diet | Herbivore |
| Described | 1975 (Jain et al.) |
| Geological Formation(s) | Kota |
| Valid Species | Barapasaurus tagorei (type) |
Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Sauropodomorpha > Plateosauria > Massopoda > Sauropodiformes > Sauropoda > Gravisauria
Overview: While not a particularly well known dinosaur to the average person, Barapasaurus was significant back when it was first described in 1975, representing what was then one of the earliest and most basal confirmed members of the Sauropoda. Basal sauropodomorphs, like Plateosaurus or Massospondylus, had long since been known, but there was a gap in understanding when it came to the early evolutionary history of the true sauropods. We have since found sauropods that were probably even more “primitive” than Barapasaurus, especially if the family Lessemsauridae really did belong to the Sauropoda. Barapasaurus is usually referred to the clade Gravisauria, so it was more derived than Lessemsaurus and its kin in any case. On the other hand, it’s usually, though not always, classified outside the clade Eusauropoda. This made it less derived than sauropod genera like Cetiosaurus. All of this fits well with it having lived during the Early Jurassic.
Barapasaurus had a mix of both “primitive” and “advanced” sauropodomorph traits. For instance, its teeth had stronger serrations, unlike those possessed by later sauropods, as well as more solidly built vertebrae – later sauropods often had more extensive hollow chambers to reduce weight. The creature’s legs were quite robust and column-like in form, at least when compared to those of its earlier relatives. Said legs would inspire its generic name, meaning “big-legged lizard”, formed out of a combination of Bengali and Greek. Having such legs allowed it to reach a decent size, with it being at least twelve meters in length and multiple tons in weight, which was quite large for the Early Jurassic. Some estimates have found it to potentially be even larger, if only slightly. There are a decent number of fossils referred to this animal, of different growth stages, all found within the rock layers of the Kota Formation, today exposed in the central region of India.