Europasaurus ‭(‬European lizard‭)

Europasaurus was a small sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Jurassic period, around 154-152 million years ago. It was named after the continent of Europe, where its fossils were found in northern Germany.

Europasaurus was a dwarf species of sauropod, measuring only about 6-7 meters in length and weighing around 1000 kg, much smaller than its larger relatives such as Apatosaurus or Brachiosaurus. It is believed that Europasaurus evolved to be smaller due to limited resources on the island it lived on, which was isolated from the mainland.

The discovery of Europasaurus has shed light on the evolution of sauropods and the ecological pressures that shaped their diversity. The fossils of Europasaurus provide evidence for insular dwarfism, a phenomenon where animals on islands evolve to be smaller in size due to limited resources.