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long-neck giant
Dystrophaeus
Say it like this: “DISS-tro-FAY-us”
Dystrophaeus viaemalae
Dystrophaeus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United States.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) · roughly 161.5 to 154.8 million years ago
- Named in
- 1877 · Cope, E. D.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 13 m · 43 ft
- Weight
- 7–12 tonnes
- Found in
- the United States · Morrison
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Eusauropoda
The story in short
In 1877, E. D. Cope published the name Dystrophaeus.
It lived in the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian), roughly 161.5 to 154.8 million years ago. Finds come from the United States, including the Morrison Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Dystrophaeus at a length near 13 m and a body mass around 7–12 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