Eoraptor lunensis
Quick Summary
Eoraptor lunensis was a primitive dinosaur discovered in Argentina. It is considered one of the earliest known dinosaurs, dating back to approximately 230 million years ago during the Late Triassic period. Paleontologist Paul Sereno named Eoraptor lunensis in 1993, determining it to be the most primitive dinosaur because it lacked specialized features found in later species. This discovery supported the theory that all dinosaurs originated from small, bipedal, carnivorous ancestors. Eoraptor was a theropod, a subgroup of saurischian dinosaurs that included all flesh-eating species.12
Ask Britannica AI about this topic
Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.