Tharosaurus

Say it like this: “THAR-oh-SOR-us”

Tharosaurus indicus

Tharosaurus ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Middle Jurassic. Bones have been found in India.

Quiz me on Tharosaurus

When: Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) · roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago
Named in: 2023 · Bajpai, S.; Datta, D.; Pandey, P.; Ghosh, T.; Kumar, K.; Bhattacharya, D.
Hip height: 2 m · 7 ft
Length: 12 m · 39 ft
Weight: 3 tonnes
Found in: India · Jaisalmer
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Eusauropoda

The story in short

In 2023, S. Bajpai and colleagues published the name Tharosaurus. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian), roughly 168.2 to 165.3 million years ago. Finds come from India, including the Jaisalmer Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Tharosaurus at a length near 12 m, hips about 2 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