Approximately 225 million years ago in the Late Triassic, Europe had it's first dinosaurs. During this time, Europe was at the North edge of the supercontinent Pangea, which was close to the equator. The temperature of the region was high and the land was arid. Conditions were milder at the coast where herbivorous dinosaurs dwelled on a diet of ginkgoes, fan-leaved trees also known as maidenhair trees. There were also carnivourus dinosaurs. These dinosaurs were anscestors of dinosaurs who would come later.
More than 50 areas in Europe have produced dinosaur specimens from the Late Triassic.
Some of the dinosaurs that lived in Late Triassic Europe are:
- Plateosaurus, an herbivorous dinosaur who lived in Switzerland, Germany, and France and who had long feet and a small head.
- Thecondontosaurus, a prosauropod (early herbivorous dinosaur) who was discovered in 1834 at a limestone quarry in Bristol, England with sharp claws on each foot and a tail that was held off the ground when in motion.
- Sellosaurus, a lightly built German prosauropod.
- Liliensternus, a carnivorous ceratosaur (early lizard-hipped dinosaur) with strong legs who lived in France and Germany.
