Daanosaurus

Say it like this: “DAH-no-SOR-us”

Daanosaurus zhangi

Daanosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in China.

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When: Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian) · roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago
Named in: 2005 · Ye, Y.; Gao, Y. H.; Jiang, S.
Hip height: 3.3 m · 11 ft
Length: 10 m · 33 ft
Weight: 1.2 tonnes
Found in: China · Shaximiao
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Eusauropoda

The story in short

The genus Daanosaurus dates to 2005, the year Y. Ye and colleagues described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Daanosaurus date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian · Tithonian), roughly 154.8 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Shaximiao Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Daanosaurus at a length near 10 m, hips about 3.3 m high, and a body mass around 1.2 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Eusauropoda, among the sauropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Algoasaurus

Algoasaurus bauri

Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian) · roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago

Atlasaurus

Atlasaurus imelakei

Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) · roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago

Bagualia

Bagualia alba

Early Jurassic (Toarcian) · roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago