Dinosaurs 101

#9 in our quest to name 15 types of dinosaurs

Prosauropods

pro-SAWR-o-pod

before the Sauropods

Prosauropods were large semi-quadrupedal, plant eating dinosaur of the Triassic and Early Jurassic periods. The fossils of these guys were found on most continents and are considered to be some of the world's oldest discovered dinosaur bones!
Although fossils of various Prosauropods have been found on most continents including Asia and the Americas, it is believed that Prosauropods primarily roamed the area now recognized as northern Europe. This is probably due to the fact that a large number of Prosauropod fossils have been unearthed in that area. Perhaps the most intriguing fossil discovery, however, has been found in present-day Madagascar.
Much like modern-day giraffes Prosauropods evolved to adapt to the high foliage available on the high trees of their time. These guys developed exceptionally long necks in order to be able to reach and browse for food at heights no other creature could remotely reach. Such a feeding pattern is supported by their basic defining characteristics, such as a light, tiny skull on the end of an elongated neck, which featured ten or more elongated cervical vertebrae, as well as a long tail that was used to counterbalance to length of the creatures' necks, as well as for defense from larger predatory dinosaurs.