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beaked plant-eater
Shantungosaurus
Say it like this: “SHAHN-DUNG-o-SAWR-us”
Shantungosaurus giganteus
Shantungosaurus ate plants and walked on two or four legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.
- When
- Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
- Named in
- 1973 · Hu, C. C.
- Hip height
- 4.6 m · 15 ft
- Length
- 15–17 m · 49–56 ft
- Weight
- 13–16 tonnes
- Found in
- China · Hongtuya
- Food and walking
- Herbivore · Two or four legs
- Kind
- beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
- Family branch
- Saurolophinae
The story in short
The genus Shantungosaurus dates to 1973, the year C. C. Hu described it. The name means “shandong lizard.”
Fossils referred to Shantungosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Campanian), roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Hongtuya Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.
Published estimates put Shantungosaurus at a length near 15–17 m, hips about 4.6 m high, and a body mass around 13–16 tonnes.
On the family tree it sits in Saurolophinae, among the ornithopod dinosaurs.
Close relatives
Acristavus
Acristavus gagslarsoni
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Ahshislesaurus
Ahshislesaurus wimani
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago
Anasazisaurus
Anasazisaurus horneri
Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago