Dino card No. 0346 of 2,027

Cardiodon

Say it: CAR-dee-oh-don

Name means: “heart tooth”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksMiddle Jurassic

Cardiodon was a huge, long-necked plant-eater that lived in what is now England about 167 million years ago. It is one of the very first sauropod dinosaurs ever given a scientific name!1 2

Lived

168 to 165 million years ago2

Middle Jurassic

Fossils found in

Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire, England1 2

Food

Plants2 1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Cardiodon was the first sauropod dinosaur ever given a formal scientific name, though scientists at the time did not yet know it was a sauropod.1

Its name means 'heart tooth' because its tooth was shaped like a heart.1

The only known fossil of Cardiodon is a single tooth, which is now lost.1

The tooth had a short, wide crown with a slightly convex inner side and a shallow groove on the outer side.1

Cardiodon lived during the late Bathonian stage of the Jurassic Period, about 167 million years ago.1 2

Some scientists think Cardiodon might be related to the giant Spanish sauropod Turiasaurus.1

AI-made picture of Cardiodon — An AI-made picture of how Cardiodon 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 Cardiodon

?How big was Cardiodon?

Nobody knows for sure. Only a single tooth has been found, so scientists cannot estimate its size.1

?What did Cardiodon eat?

Cardiodon was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. As a sauropod, it would have been a large, quadrupedal plant-eater.1 2

?Is Cardiodon a dinosaur?

Yes, Cardiodon is a genus of sauropod dinosaur.1 2

?Why is Cardiodon only known from a tooth?

The only fossil ever found of Cardiodon is a single tooth, which is now lost. No other bones have been discovered.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Cardiodon is just a synonym of Cetiosaurus.

Truth: Recent studies show Cardiodon is a distinct genus, not the same as Cetiosaurus.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Cardiodon
Named by: Owen 18412
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Eusauropoda2
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda2
Age of the rocks: 168 to 165 million years (Bathonian)2
Rock formations: Forest Marble2
Countries: United Kingdom2
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Richard Owen named Cardiodon in 1841 based on a tooth found near Bradford-on-Avon, England, by naturalist Joseph Chaning Pearce. He added the species name rugulosus in 1844.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Cardiodon was, because only a single tooth has been found.1

Where the facts come from

Cardiodon (en.wikipedia.org)
Cardiodon in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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