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Cetiosaurus

Say it: SEE-tee-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “whale lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksMiddle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Cetiosaurus was one of the very first long-necked dinosaurs ever discovered. It lived in what is now England and France about 170 million years ago. This giant plant-eater was as long as a bus and weighed as much as two elephants!1 2

Lived

175 to 120 million years ago5

Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

England, France, Switzerland, and Morocco1 5

Food

Plants1

Length

16 to 18 m1 2

estimates vary

Weight

11 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 4 cars parked in a rowas long as 100 bananas end to endas heavy as 7 carsas heavy as 2 elephantsas heavy as 2200 watermelons

How big was Cetiosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Cetiosaurus was named in 1841 by Sir Richard Owen, the same scientist who later invented the word 'dinosaur'. Owen thought it was a giant sea crocodile, not a land dinosaur.1

Its name means 'whale lizard' because Owen believed it was a marine reptile. We now know it was a long-necked dinosaur that walked on land.1

Cetiosaurus had a shorter neck and tail than many other sauropods, but its front legs were as long as its back legs.1

The first Cetiosaurus fossils were found near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England, in the early 1800s.1

A nearly complete skeleton called the 'Rutland Dinosaur' was discovered in 1968 in a clay pit in Rutland, England. It took two years to identify it as Cetiosaurus.1

Cetiosaurus was about 16 to 18 metres long (52 to 59 feet) and weighed around 11 tonnes (12 short tons). That's as heavy as two African elephants!1 2

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

?How big was Cetiosaurus?

Cetiosaurus was about 16 metres (52 feet) long and weighed roughly 11 tonnes (12 short tons). That is as long as two double-decker buses and as heavy as two African elephants.1 3

?What did Cetiosaurus eat?

Cetiosaurus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It had peg-like teeth for stripping leaves and branches.1 4

?When did Cetiosaurus live?

Cetiosaurus lived during the Middle Jurassic Period, about 171 to 165 million years ago.1

?Where was Cetiosaurus found?

Fossils of Cetiosaurus have been found mainly in England, but also in France, Switzerland and Morocco. The first fossils were discovered near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England.1

?Is Cetiosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Cetiosaurus is a dinosaur. It is a sauropod dinosaur, a group of long-necked, plant-eating giants. When first discovered, scientists thought it was a marine reptile, but we now know it was a land dinosaur.1 4

?Why is it called Cetiosaurus?

Its name means 'whale lizard' because the scientist who named it, Sir Richard Owen, thought it was a giant sea reptile. We now know it was a land dinosaur.1

Ask Rex about Cetiosaurus

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Myth buster

Myth: Many people think Cetiosaurus was a whale or a sea monster because of its name.

Truth: Cetiosaurus was a land-dwelling dinosaur, not a whale or marine reptile. Its name was given before scientists knew it was a dinosaur.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Cetiosaurus
Named by: Owen 18415
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Gravisauria5
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda5
Age of the rocks: 175 to 120 million years (Aalenian / Aptian)5
Rock formations: El Mers, Chipping Norton Limestone, Forest Marble5
Countries: United Kingdom, Morocco, Spain, France5
Fossil records: 30 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Cetiosaurus was named by Sir Richard Owen in 1841 based on fossils found near Chipping Norton, England. He thought it was a giant sea reptile, but later scientists realized it was a sauropod dinosaur.1
Still debated: Scientists still debate which species belong to Cetiosaurus. Many early species were based on poor fossils and may be different dinosaurs.1

Where the facts come from

Cetiosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Cetiosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Britain's biggest Jurassic dinosaurs | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Cetiosaurus | Zoology | Research Starters | EBSCOhost (ebsco.com)
Cetiosaurus 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.

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