Lufengosaurus

Say it like this: “LOO-FUHNG-o-SAWR-us”

Lufengosaurus huenei

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

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When: Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian) · roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago
Named in: 1940 · Young, C. C.
Hip height: 2.1 m · 7 ft
Length: 6–9 m · 20–30 ft
Weight: 1.7–2.3 tonnes
Found in: China · Lufeng
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two legs
Kind: early long-neck · Sauropodomorph
Family branch: Massospondylidae

The story in short

Lufengosaurus was formally named in 1940 by C. C. Young. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Early Jurassic (Hettangian · Sinemurian), roughly 201.4 to 192.9 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Lufeng Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Lufengosaurus at a length near 6–9 m, hips about 2.1 m high, and a body mass around 1.7–2.3 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Adeopapposaurus

Adeopapposaurus mognai

Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Toarcian) · roughly 201.4 to 174.7 million years ago

Coloradisaurus

Coloradisaurus brevis

Late Triassic (Norian) · roughly 227.3 to 205.7 million years ago

Fulengia

Fulengia youngi

Early Jurassic (Sinemurian) · roughly 199.5 to 192.9 million years ago