Shunosaurus

Say it like this: “SHOO-no-SAWR-us”

Shunosaurus lii

Shunosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Shunosaurus

When: Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Bajocian–Oxfordian) · roughly 170.9 to 154.8 million years ago
Named in: 1983 · Dong, Z.; Zhou, S.; Zhang, H.
Hip height: 3.5 m · 11 ft
Length: 9.5–11 m · 31–36 ft
Weight: 3 tonnes
Found in: China · Shaximiao
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Eusauropoda

The story in short

Shunosaurus was formally named in 1983 by Z. Dong and colleagues. The name means “lizard from Sichuan.”

Fossils referred to Shunosaurus date to the Middle Jurassic · Late Jurassic (Bajocian–Oxfordian), roughly 170.9 to 154.8 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Shaximiao Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Shunosaurus at a length near 9.5–11 m, hips about 3.5 m high, and a body mass around 3 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