Gongxianosaurus

Say it like this: “GOONG-shyen-o-SAWR-us”

Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis

Gongxianosaurus ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Gongxianosaurus

When: Early Jurassic (Toarcian) · roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago
Named in: 1998 · He, X.; Wang, C.; Liu, S.; Zhou, F.; Liu, T.; Cai, K.; Dai, B.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 14 m · 46 ft
Weight: 3.2 tonnes
Found in: China · Ziliujing
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
Family branch: Sauropodiformes

The story in short

In 1998, X. He and colleagues published the name Gongxianosaurus. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Early Jurassic (Toarcian), roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Ziliujing Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Gongxianosaurus at a length near 14 m and a body mass around 3.2 tonnes.

On the family tree it sits in Sauropodiformes, among the early long-necked dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Aardonyx

Aardonyx celestae

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago

Anchisaurus

Anchisaurus polyzelus

Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago

Blikanasaurus

Blikanasaurus cromptoni

Late Triassic (Norian · Rhaetian) · roughly 227.3 to 201.4 million years ago