Dinosaurs Around the World · Drawing 03 of 34
Early Days: Herrerasaurus
South America (Argentina) · Triassic · about 230 million years ago
Herrerasaurus is one of the earliest known dinosaurs. It ate meat. Dinosaurs descended from older reptiles.
Did you know?
Tyrannosaurus rex did not exist yet.
Look together
How many legs did it walk on?
An idea to try
Count the legs and point to the arms.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
Dinosaur origins remain under study. Herrerasaurus is a Triassic example from about 230 million years ago, not a claim that the first dinosaurs originated exactly then. Evolution is branching ancestry, not a ladder in which Herrerasaurus turns directly into Tyrannosaurus rex.
Sources and illustration notes (2)
Simplified reconstruction. Pose, unpreserved tissues and setting are interpreted. Choose your own colours; animals are not to one scale.
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. References identify the institution and the related lesson; some linked pages are in French.
- Natural History Museum: Where did dinosaurs come from?Early dinosaurs and their older reptile ancestry; no claim that all dinosaurs appeared at once.
- Western Australian Museum: Herrerasaurus ischigualastensisLate Triassic Argentina, approximately 230 million years ago.
Page prepared on October 4, 2026. Illustrations are simplified for colouring.
This drawing is from the book Dinosaurs Around the World to Colour
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