Euparkeria

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Euparkeria Fossil range: Early Triassic
life restoration of Euparkeria capensis
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Infraclass: Archosauromorpha (unranked) Archosauriformes Family: Euparkeriidae Genus: Euparkeria
Binomial name
Euparkeria capensis Broom, 1913a

Euparkeria (/juˈpɑː(r)k.ə.riː.ə/), named in honor of W.K. Parker, was a small African reptile of the early Triassic period, close to the ancestry of the archosaurs. It was 5 feet long and weighed 40 lbs. It was a carnivore and was not a dinosaur. Euparkeria had relatively long hind legs, and may have been semi-bipedal, able to move using only its hind legs when running quickly (Caroll, 1988). This tendency towards bipedal locomotion makes Euparkeria one of the earliest reptiles to walk on two legs, a feature that would be retained in some dinosaurs and early crocodilians.

[edit] Popular culture

Euparkeria was featured in the BBC television program Walking With Monsters.

[edit] External links

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