Zhuchengtitan
"Zhucheng titan"
Type species Zhuchengtitan zangjiazhuangensis
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods, Saltasauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Mo et al. 2017
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
Its rocks record rivers, floodplains and sediment washed down from higher ground in what is now China. Shantungosaurus, Zhuchengtyrannus and Sinoceratops lived in the same region.
Field notes
About Zhuchengtitan
What it was like
Zhuchengtitan was a titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from a front leg bone.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now China. It comes from the Hongtuya Formation, where it shared the land with the giant duckbill Shantungosaurus, the tyrannosaur Zhuchengtyrannus and the horned Sinoceratops.
How it was found
Mo and colleagues named Zhuchengtitan in 2017. The type species is Zhuchengtitan zangjiazhuangensis.
Field gallery
More views of Zhuchengtitan
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 Zhuchengtitan.
The evidence
The science behind Zhuchengtitan
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A nearly complete upper arm bone has a thick shaft and an unusually broad upper end.
- A large ridge for muscle attachment spreads down the front of the bone.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing body is restored using titanosaurs such as Opisthocoelicaudia, which has a similarly broad upper arm bone.
Still unknown
- Its body length and the proportions of its neck and tail.
- The shape of its head.
- Its skin covering and whether it carried armor.
Discovery timeline
- 2010Same rocksXu et al.
- 2011Same rocksHone et al.
- 2017Named itMo et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Zhuchengtitan
Same rocks
Described Sinoceratops, a horned plant eater from the same regional rocks as Zhuchengtitan.
First ceratopsid dinosaur from China and its biogeographical implications. Chinese Science Bulletin 55: 1631-1635
Read the paper : First ceratopsid dinosaur from China and its biogeographical implications (opens in a new tab)Same rocks
Named the large predator Zhuchengtyrannus from jaw bones found in the same regional dinosaur-bearing rocks.
A new, large tyrannosaurine theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China. Cretaceous Research 32: 495-503
Read the paper : A new, large tyrannosaurine theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Zhuchengtitan from a robust upper arm bone and suggested a close relationship with Opisthocoelicaudia.
A new titanosaurian sauropod from the Late Cretaceous strata of Shandong Province. Geological Bulletin of China 36: 1501-1504
No link available
Close relatives
Other members of Saltasauridae
Sources: Wikidata