Outline: a typical sauropod
Shunosaurus
SHOO-noh-SORE-us
"Shu lizard"
Type species Shunosaurus lii
- Lived
- 175 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Length
- about 10 m (33 ft)
- Group
- Sauropods
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Dong et al. 1983
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical sauropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Field notes
About Shunosaurus
What it was like
Shunosaurus was a long-necked plant eater about 10 meters (33 feet) long, short for a sauropod. Its tail ended in a small bony club with spikes, a rare weapon among long-necked dinosaurs.
It had a relatively short neck and probably fed on low plants.
Its world
It lived in the Middle and Late Jurassic, about 175 to 155 million years ago, in what is now China. Its fossils come from the Shaximiao Formation, a land of rivers and lakes shared with Omeisaurus, Mamenchisaurus, the stegosaur Huayangosaurus and the meat eater Yangchuanosaurus.
How it was found
Dong and colleagues named Shunosaurus in 1983. The type species is Shunosaurus lii. Several nearly complete skeletons have been found, making it one of the best known sauropods.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Eusauropoda
Sources: WikidataNamed in: Z. Dong, S. Zhou, and H. Zhang. 1983. [Dinosaurs from the Jurassic of Sichuan]. Palaeontologica Sinica, New Series C, Whole Number 162(23):1-136