Yuanmousaurus
"Yuanmou lizard"
- Lived
- 175 to 162 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Length
- about 17 m (56 ft)
- Group
- Sauropods, Mamenchisauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Lü et al. 2006
Size comparison
To scale
Scale in metersOutline: typical sauropod shape
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
170 million years ago
Habitat
It lived in a river landscape in what is now China. The Zhanghe Formation also preserves the predator Yuanmouraptor and the sauropod Nebulasaurus.
Field notes
About Yuanmousaurus
What it was like
Yuanmousaurus was a sauropod about 17 meters (56 feet) long, related to Mamenchisaurus. It is known from part of the backbone and limbs.
Its world
It lived in the Middle Jurassic, in what is now China. It comes from the Zhanghe Formation, where it shared the land with the predator Yuanmouraptor and the sauropods Nebulasaurus and Eomamenchisaurus.
How it was found
Lü and colleagues named Yuanmousaurus in 2006.
Field gallery
More views of Yuanmousaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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 Yuanmousaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Yuanmousaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- An incomplete skeleton preserves parts of the backbone and limbs.
- Ridges on its backbones divide the sides of the bones into deep pockets.
- One study of its type skeleton found differences from Chuanjiesaurus in the thighbone and fibula.
Borrowed from relatives
- Its missing head and neck are restored from other mamenchisaurids.
Still unknown
- In later studies, experts disagree whether Yuanmousaurus is distinct from Eomamenchisaurus and other mamenchisaurids.
- The full length and shape of its neck.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2006Named itLü et al.
- 2013Family treeXing
- 2015Family treeXing et al.
- 2025Same rocksZou et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Yuanmousaurus
Named it
Named Yuanmousaurus from an incomplete skeleton and described the ridges and pockets in its backbones.
New eusauropod dinosaur from Yuanmou of Yunnan province, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 80: 1-10
No link available
Family tree
Described Nebulasaurus and questioned whether the features used to name Yuanmousaurus distinguish it from other mamenchisaurids.
A new basal eusauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan, China, and faunal compositions and transitions of Asian sauropodomorph dinosaurs. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica
Read the paper : A new basal eusauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan, China, and faunal compositions and transitions of Asian sauropodomorph dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Questioned whether Yuanmousaurus can be distinguished from Eomamenchisaurus and called for detailed descriptions and taxonomic revision.
A new sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of China and the diversity, distribution, and relationships of mamenchisaurids. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 35: e889701
Read the paper : A new sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of China and the diversity, distribution, and relationships of mamenchisaurids (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Named Yuanmouraptor from a skull and neck in the same formation, adding a well-preserved predator to the local dinosaur fauna.
A new metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China. PeerJ 13: e19218
Read the paper : A new metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan Province, China (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Mamenchisauridae
Sources: Wikidata