Jingshanosaurus

Jingshanosaurus is known from an almost complete skeleton, including the skull and most of the backbone.2

It lived during the Early Jurassic period, about 201 to 199 million years ago.1

Scientists once thought a dinosaur called Chuxiongosaurus was a different species, but now they think it is the same as Jingshanosaurus.2

Jingshanosaurus had a special bend at the base of its upper jaw bone, which helped scientists tell it apart from other dinosaurs.2

Its eye socket was shaped like a triangle that was narrower at the bottom.2

The first fossil of Jingshanosaurus was found in 1988 by a local cultural affairs worker in Yunnan, China.2

Jingshanosaurus is one of the earliest members of the group that eventually gave rise to the giant sauropods like Brachiosaurus.2