Dino card No. 0009 of 2,027

Abrosaurus

Say it: ab-roe-SORE-us

Name means: “delicate lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksMiddle Jurassic to Late Jurassic

Abrosaurus was a small, gentle giant that lived in what is now China during the Middle Jurassic. It had a delicate skull with big holes and a tall bony arch on its head that held its nostrils. Like other sauropods, it walked on four legs and ate plants.1

Lived

171 to 155 million years ago5

Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic

Fossils found in

Dashanpu Quarry, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China1 3

Food

Plants2 3

Length

up to 9.1 m1

Weight

up to 4.4 tonnes4

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 3 cars

as long as 2 cars parked in a rowas long as 51 bananas end to endas heavy as 150 big dogsas heavy as 880 watermelons

How big was Abrosaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Abrosaurus is known from a nearly complete skull, which is very rare for sauropods.1

Its name means 'delicate lizard' because its skull had large openings separated by thin, bony struts.1

Abrosaurus lived about 168 to 161 million years ago, during the Middle Jurassic.1

It was one of the smallest sauropods, reaching only about 9.1 meters (30 feet) long.1

The species name A. dongpoi honors the Chinese poet Su Dongpo, who was born in Sichuan.1

Abrosaurus had a boxy head with a tall bony arch on top that held its nostrils.1

AI-made picture of Abrosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Abrosaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Abrosaurus

?How big was Abrosaurus?

About 9.1 metres (30 feet) long. That is small for a sauropod.1

?What did Abrosaurus eat?

It ate plants. Like most sauropods, Abrosaurus was a herbivore.1 5

?When did Abrosaurus live?

It lived during the Middle Jurassic Period, about 168 to 161 million years ago.1

?Why is it called Abrosaurus?

Its name means 'delicate lizard' because its skull had large openings separated by thin, bony struts.1

Ask Rex about Abrosaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Abrosaurus
Named by: Ouyang 19895
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Mamenchisauridae5
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda5
Age of the rocks: 171 to 155 million years (Bajocian / Oxfordian)5
Rock formations: Shaximiao5
Countries: China5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Abrosaurus was discovered in 1984 at the Dashanpu Quarry in China. It was first described by Chinese paleontologist Ouyang Hui in 1989, who named the type species A. dongpoensis (later corrected to A. dongpoi).1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly where Abrosaurus fits in the sauropod family tree, because its skeleton has not been fully described.1

Where the facts come from

Abrosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
A new sauropod from Dashanpu, Zigong Co. Sichuan Province (Abrosaurus dongpoensis gen. et sp. nov.) (naturalhistory.si.edu)
Abrosaurus dongpoi | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
Abrosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex