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Dashanpusaurus, Middle Jurassic to Late JurassicShaximiao Formation, China · named 2005
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Dashanpusaurus

"Dashanpu lizard"

Type species Dashanpusaurus dongi

Lived
171 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
Diet
Herbivore
Group
Sauropods
Found in
China
Named by
Peng et al. 2005

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

1 find

165 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

Rivers and lakes shaped the landscape recorded in the lower Shaximiao Formation. Its neighbors included the sauropod Shunosaurus, the stegosaur Huayangosaurus and the small plant eater Agilisaurus.

Field notes

About Dashanpusaurus

What it was like

Dashanpusaurus was a sauropod, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from part of the skeleton. It may be one of the earliest macronarians, the group that includes Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus.

Its world

It lived in the Jurassic, in what is now China. It comes from the Shaximiao Formation, home to the sauropods Shunosaurus and Mamenchisaurus, the stegosaur Huayangosaurus and the predator Gasosaurus.

How it was found

Peng and colleagues named Dashanpusaurus in 2005. The type species is Dashanpusaurus dongi.

Field gallery

More views of Dashanpusaurus

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Dashanpusaurus in its habitat, photo 1

1 of 3

Lived alongside

Found in the same rock formations

A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Dashanpusaurus.

The evidence

The science behind Dashanpusaurus

Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.

From its own fossils

  • The type skeleton preserves vertebrae from the middle of the neck to the rear of the tail, a forearm bone, the hips, a thigh bone and a shin bone. A second partial skeleton from the same site includes vertebrae from the front of the neck.
  • Some front back vertebrae have nearly square openings for the spinal cord. The lower end of the upper arm bone bears distinctive ridges at the front, and the shoulder blade widens toward its far end.
  • The front blade of its hip bone is narrower and sticks out less to the side than in Yuzhoulong, and the thigh bone has a bulge on its outer side and two ridges at the front.

Borrowed from relatives

  • The missing skull is restored by comparison with early macronarians such as Camarasaurus.

Still unknown

  • The shape of its skull and teeth.
  • Its skin texture and color.
  • How its body proportions changed as it grew.

Discovery timeline

  1. 2005Named itPeng et al.
  2. 2021Same rocksMa et al.
  3. 2022RedescriptionRen et al.
  4. 2022Close relativeDai et al.
  5. 2023Family treeRen et al.

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Dashanpusaurus

Close relatives

Other members of Macronaria

Sources: Wikidata