Europasaurus

Europasaurus holgeri

Europasaurus is a recently discovered (2006) Dinosaur that also happens to be an example of insular dwarfism. You see, this creature is a sauropod, related to such giants as the Brachiosaurus. However, Europasaurus was quite small for a member of its family-- it grew to only about 10ft in length.

The reasoning for the small size is most likely isolation. The Europasaurus was found in the Saxony Basin, and most likely evolved in a region that had very limited resources. Because feeding and sustaining massive Sauropods was no feasible in the area of the world, these Dinosaurs grew smaller in size.

Europasaurus is also different because it had a very slow growth rate. Where other Sauropods reached titanic sizes very quickly, the Europasaurus grew at a much, much slower speed. It is possible that very old individuals reached sizes of more than 10ft, but they still would've been dwarfed by their Brachiosaur family members.

---

Status : Extinct for 150 million years
Location : Europe
Size : Body length up to 10ft (3m)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Order : Saurischia
Family : †Brachiosauridae -- Genus : †Europasaurus -- Species : † E. holgeri

Image : Gerhard Boeggemann