Euparkeria
| Euparkeria Temporal range: Early Triassic
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| life restoration of Euparkeria capensis | |
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| Genus: | Euparkeria
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| Euparkeria capensis Broom, 1913a
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Euparkeria (/juˈpɑː(r)k.ə.riː.ə/), meaning "Parker's good animal", named in honor of W.K. Parker, was a small African reptile of the early Triassic period between 245-234 million years ago, close to the ancestry of the archosaurs.
It had a light, lean body, long tail, and a small skull with tiny, needle-like teeth. It fed on insects and any other small animals that it could find on the forest floor, and would periodically shed its teeth in order to keep them sharp.
Euparkeria was one of the smaller reptiles of its time, with the adults reaching the size of a large lizard (55 cm.). It lived in a world with many predators, so it had to be quick on its feet. It walked on four legs for most of the time, but if a quick getaway was needed, it could rise on to its hind legs and run at a very high speed. As far as is known this technique was unique to Euparkeria at that time, and would have given it a great advantage. Some people even think that it could have run fast enough to skip lightly across the water surface of small ponds and lakes, just like the present-day basilisk lizard. The only other means of defence that Euparkeria possessed was a sharp claw on its thumb, which could have been used as a weapon in close combat.
The first fossils were found in South Africa in 1913, but better specimens were found in 1924. The matter is further confused because there is a gap of 10 million years before Euparkeria and the first fossilized dinosaurs, such as Eoraptor. It was 22" long and weighed 20 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 Crurotarsi.
Popular culture
Euparkeria was featured in the BBC television program Walking With Monsters, saying that it is the ancestor of all dinosaurs.
References
Haines, Tim, and Paul Chambers: The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life. Pg. 62. Canada: Firefly Books Ltd., 2006.
External links
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