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long-neck giant
Euhelopus
Say it like this: “yoo-HEL-o-pus”
Euhelopus zdanskyi
Euhelopus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian) · roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago
- Named in
- 1956 · Romer, A. S.
- Hip height
- 2.7 m · 9 ft
- Length
- 11–15 m · 36–49 ft
- Weight
- 3.5–20 tonnes
- Found in
- China · Mengyin
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Euhelopodidae
The story in short
The genus Euhelopus dates to 1956, the year A. S. Romer described it.
Fossils referred to Euhelopus date to the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian · Valanginian), roughly 143.1 to 132.6 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Mengyin Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Euhelopus at a length near 11–15 m, hips about 2.7 m high, and a body mass around 3.5–20 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Euhelopodidae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Erketu
Erketu ellisoni
Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Santonian) · roughly 100.5 to 83.6 million years ago
Gobititan
Gobititan shenzhouensis
Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Liaoningotitan
Liaoningotitan sinensis
Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago