Look up · dinosaur 1087 of 1,425
long-neck giant
Sanpasaurus
Say it like this: “sahn-PAH-SAWR-us”
Sanpasaurus yaoi
Sanpasaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Early Jurassic (Toarcian) · roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago
- Named in
- 1944 · Young, C. C.
- Hip height
- 2 m · 7 ft
- Length
- 7.2 m · 24 ft
- Weight
- 1.1 tonnes
- Found in
- China · Ziliujing
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Four legs
- Kind
- long-neck giant · Sauropod
- Family branch
- Gravisauria
The story in short
The genus Sanpasaurus dates to 1944, the year C. C. Young described it. The name means “sanpa lizard.”
Fossils referred to Sanpasaurus date to 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 walked on four legs.
Published estimates put Sanpasaurus at a length near 7.2 m, hips about 2 m high, and a body mass around 1.1 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Gravisauria, among the sauropod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Rhoetosaurus
Rhoetosaurus brownei
Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) · roughly 161.5 to 154.8 million years ago
Tazoudasaurus
Tazoudasaurus naimi
Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian · Toarcian) · roughly 192.9 to 174.7 million years ago
Volkheimeria
Volkheimeria chubutensis
Early Jurassic (Toarcian) · roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago