Yizhousaurus
"Yizhou lizard"
- Lived
- 200 to 193 million years ago, Early Jurassic
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Zhang et al. 2018
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
195 million years ago
Habitat
It lived inland in southern China during the Early Jurassic. Other dinosaurs from the Lufeng Formation include Lufengosaurus, Yunnanosaurus and Sinosaurus.
Field notes
About Yizhousaurus
What it was like
Yizhousaurus was an early relative of the giant sauropods, a large plant eater. It is known from a nearly complete skeleton with a well-preserved skull.
Its world
It lived about 200 to 193 million years ago, in the Early Jurassic, in what is now southern China. Its bones come from the Lufeng Formation, a rich site shared with Lufengosaurus, Yunnanosaurus and the crested predator Sinosaurus.
How it was found
Zhang and colleagues named it in 2018.
Field gallery
More views of Yizhousaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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 Yizhousaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Yizhousaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A nearly complete skeleton preserves the skull and lower jaw, much of the backbone, the shoulders, hips, arms and thighbones.
- Its short, broad skull combines a sauropod-like shape with the body features of an earlier sauropodomorph.
- Neighboring vertebrae near the base of the tail are fused together, probably from an injury or disease.
Borrowed from relatives
- Most of its body shape comes from its own skeleton; missing lower legs and the end of the tail are restored from other early sauropodomorphs such as Yunnanosaurus.
Still unknown
- Its skin colors.
- Exactly which plants it ate.
- How its body proportions changed as it grew.
Discovery timeline
- 2017Close relativeWang, You & Wang
- 2018Named itZhang et al.
- 2024Same rocksZhang et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Yizhousaurus
Close relative
Described Xingxiulong, showing that sauropod-like features appeared in several different early sauropodomorphs from the Lufeng Formation.
A new basal sauropodiform dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China. Scientific Reports 7
Read the paper : A new basal sauropodiform dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China (opens in a new tab)Named it
Described a nearly complete skeleton with a broad, sauropod-like skull and placed Yizhousaurus among early relatives of sauropods.
A new sauropodiform dinosaur with a ‘sauropodan’ skull from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China. Scientific Reports 8
Read the paper : A new sauropodiform dinosaur with a ‘sauropodan’ skull from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Described Lishulong and compared its skull with Yizhousaurus and other early sauropodomorphs from the Lufeng Formation.
The largest sauropodomorph skull from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of China. PeerJ 12: e18629
Read the paper : The largest sauropodomorph skull from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of China (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Sauropodiformes
Sources: Wikidata