Vulcanodon

Say it like this: “vuhl-KAYN-o-don”

Vulcanodon karibaensis

Vulcanodon ate plants and walked on four legs. It lived in the Early Jurassic. Bones have been found in Zimbabwe.

Quiz me on Vulcanodon

When: Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian) · roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago
Named in: 1972 · Raath, M. A.
Hip height: 3 m · 10 ft
Length: 6.5 m · 21 ft
Weight: 3.5 tonnes
Found in: Zimbabwe · Forest Sandstone
Food and walking: Herbivore · Four legs
Kind: long-neck giant · Sauropod
Family branch: Gravisauria

The story in short

Vulcanodon was formally named in 1972 by M. A. Raath. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

It lived in the Early Jurassic (Sinemurian · Pliensbachian), roughly 199.5 to 184.2 million years ago. Finds come from Zimbabwe, including the Forest Sandstone Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on four legs.

Published estimates put Vulcanodon at a length near 6.5 m, hips about 3 m high, and a body mass around 3.5 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

Sanpasaurus

Sanpasaurus yaoi

Early Jurassic (Toarcian) · roughly 184.2 to 174.7 million years ago

Tazoudasaurus

Tazoudasaurus naimi

Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian · Toarcian) · roughly 192.9 to 174.7 million years ago