The Thecodontosaurus meaned socket toothed lizard. Fossils for this Triassic dinosaur were found in South England and Wales. The first fossils of the Thecodontosaurus was destroyed by bombings from Germany in WWII in 1940. More skeleton fossils had been found what was thought in Australia, but probably from England instead.

The Original classification of Thecodontosaurus was a Prosauropoda which was in 1998. but shortly after it was realized that this dinosaur should've been under the Sauropod classification because this dinosaur existed during the timeline where a prosauropod classification was created. Thecodontosaurus just was a little too primitive to fit under the Prosauropoda category.

The Thecodontosaurus was about 1.3 meters long, with a short neck, large skull, large eyes, and leaf shaped teeth. This herbivores hands and feet each had five digits, the hands were long and rather narrow with an extended claw on each. The front limbs were also much shorter than the legs, and the tail was much longer than the head, neck and body put together.

There has also been a major claim that this dinosaur is actually an already described different dinosaur called Pantydraco.