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long-neck giant
Janenschia
Say it like this: “yah-NEN-shee-a”
Janenschia robusta
Janenschia ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in Tanzania.
- When
- Late Jurassic (Tithonian) · roughly 149.2 to 143.1 million years ago
- Named in
- 1991 · Wild, R.
- Hip height
- Not established
- Length
- 20 m · 66 ft
- Weight
- 20 tonnes
- Found in
- Tanzania · Tendaguru
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Eusauropoda
The story in short
Janenschia was formally named in 1991 by R. Wild. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.
Fossils referred to Janenschia date to the Late Jurassic (Tithonian), roughly 149.2 to 143.1 million years ago. Finds come from Tanzania, including the Tendaguru Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Janenschia at a length near 20 m and a body mass around 20 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