Look up · dinosaur 738 of 1,425
long-neck giant
Lirainosaurus
Say it like this: “lee-RIEN-o-SAWR-us”
Lirainosaurus astibiae
Lirainosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in Spain.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
- Named in
- 1999 · Sanz, J. L.; Powell, J. E.; Le Loeuff, J.; Martínez, R.; Pereda-Suberbiola, X.
- Hip height
- 1.2 m · 4 ft
- Length
- 4–6 m · 13–20 ft
- Weight
- 2–4 tonnes
- Found in
- Spain
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Lirainosaurinae
The story in short
The genus Lirainosaurus dates to 1999, the year J. L. Sanz and colleagues described it. The name means “slender lizard.”
It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian), roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from Spain. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Lirainosaurus at a length near 4–6 m, hips about 1.2 m high, and a body mass around 2–4 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Lirainosaurinae, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Ampelosaurus
Ampelosaurus atacis
Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
Atsinganosaurus
Atsinganosaurus velauciensis
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Garrigatitan
Garrigatitan meridionalis
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago