Dongyangosaurus
- Lived
- 101 to 90 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Lü et al. 2008
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
95 million years ago
Habitat
The Jinhua Formation records shallow lakes and river deltas in what is now China. Jiangshanosaurus lived in the same region, alongside small meat eaters and flying reptiles known from tracks.
Field notes
About Dongyangosaurus
What it was like
Dongyangosaurus was a titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from part of the back, hips and tail.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now China. It comes from the Jinhua Formation, where the sauropod Jiangshanosaurus has also been found.
How it was found
Lü and colleagues named Dongyangosaurus in 2008.
Field gallery
More views of Dongyangosaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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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 Dongyangosaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Dongyangosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton preserves back vertebrae, ribs, the hips and the base of the tail.
- The bony spines above its back vertebrae split into paired tips.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing head, neck and limbs are restored by comparison with other long-necked sauropods, including Jiangshanosaurus.
Still unknown
- The shape of its head and the length of its neck.
- Its skin covering and color.
- Exactly where it belongs among titanosaurs and their closest relatives.
Discovery timeline
- 2008Named itLü et al.
- 2013Family treeMannion et al.
- 2019RedescriptionMannion et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Dongyangosaurus
Named it
Named Dongyangosaurus from a partial skeleton with distinctive back vertebrae and hip bones.
A new titanosauriform sauropod from the Early Late Cretaceous of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province. Acta Geologica Sinica 82: 225-235
No link available
Family tree
An earlier family tree linked Dongyangosaurus with Opisthocoelicaudia within the titanosaurs.
Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaurLusotitan atalaiensis(Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 168: 98-206
Read the paper : Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaurLusotitan atalaiensis(Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms (opens in a new tab)Redescription
Reexamined Dongyangosaurus and Jiangshanosaurus and placed them outside the titanosaurs in several family-tree analyses.
New information on the Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs of Zhejiang Province, China: impact on Laurasian titanosauriform phylogeny and biogeography. Royal Society Open Science 6: 191057
Read the paper : New information on the Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs of Zhejiang Province, China: impact on Laurasian titanosauriform phylogeny and biogeography (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Titanosauria
Sources: Wikidata