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long-neck giant · Doubtful name
Gigantosaurus
Say it like this: “jih-GAN-toe-SOR-us”
Gigantosaurus megalonyx
Gigantosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in the United Kingdom.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) · roughly 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1869 · Seeley, H. G.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- Not established
- Weight
- Not established
- Found in
- the United Kingdom · Kimmeridge Clay
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Sauropoda
The story in short
Gigantosaurus was formally named in 1869 by H. G. Seeley. The name means “giant lizard.”
Fossils referred to Gigantosaurus date to the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian), roughly 154.8 to 149.2 million years ago. Finds come from the United Kingdom, including the Kimmeridge Clay Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
The fossils of Gigantosaurus are too incomplete for a responsible length, hip height, or weight, so those fields are left blank on purpose.
On the family tree it sits in Sauropoda, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Aepisaurus
Aepisaurus elephantinus
Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago
Amygdalodon
Amygdalodon patagonicus
Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian · Toarcian) · roughly 192.9 to 174.7 million years ago
Archaeodontosaurus
Archaeodontosaurus descouensi
Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) · roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago