Efraasia
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Efraasia Temporal range: Late Triassic, 210 Ma |
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Genus: |
†Efraasia Galton, 1973 |
| Type species | |
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†Efraasia minor (von Huene, 1907–1908 [originally Teratosaurus minor]) |
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| Synonyms | |
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Efraasia (pronounced "E-FRAHS-ee-A") is a genus of basal sauropodomorph dinosaur. It was a herbivore which lived during the middle Norian stage of the Late Triassic, around 210 million years ago, in what is now Germany. It was named in 1973 after Eberhard Fraas, who during the early twentieth century collected what were the original type specimens.
The specimens were at first assigned to three already existing genera and so became divided among three separate species: Teratosaurus minor, Sellosaurus fraasi and Paleosaurus diagnosticus. In 2003 these were combined into a single valid species: Efraasia minor.
Efraasia was a lightly built, medium-sized sauropodomorph, about 6 to 7 metres (20 to 23 ft) long.
Efraasia has had a complicated taxonomic history involving several genera and species. Material now known under Efraasia first came to light after Albert Burrer, Hofsteinmetzmeister ("Court master stonemason") at Maulbronn, in 1902 began to exploit the Weiße Steinbruch, a quarry near Pfaffenhofen in Württemberg. To reach the layer of hard white sandstone Burrer wanted to use for his building projects a 6 metres (20 ft) thick overburden of softer marl had to be removed. Many vertebrate fossils proved to be present in it. This stratum was part of the Stubensandstein Member of the lower Löwenstein Formation, dating to the Norian. From 1906 until 1914 when the quarry closed, Burrer donated the finds to paleontologist Professor Fraas of the königliche Stuttgarter Naturalienkabinett.
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