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early long-neck
Irisosaurus
Say it like this: “EYE-rih-so-SAWR-us”
Irisosaurus yimenensis
Irisosaurus ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) · roughly 192.9 to 184.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 2020 · Peyre de Fabrègues, C.; Bi, S.; Li, H.; Li, G.; Yang, L.; Xu, X.
- Hip height
- 1.6 m · 5 ft
- Length
- 5.7 m · 19 ft
- Weight
- 500 kg · 1,102 lb
- Found in
- China · Fengjiahe
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two or four legs
- Kind
- early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
- Family branch
- Sauropodiformes
The story in short
The genus Irisosaurus dates to 2020, the year C. Peyre de Fabrègues and colleagues described it. The name means “iridescent lizard.”
It lived in the Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian), roughly 192.9 to 184.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Fengjiahe Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.
Published estimates put Irisosaurus at a length near 5.7 m, hips about 1.6 m high, and a body mass around 500 kg.
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