Dino card No. 0471 of 2,027

Daanosaurus

Say it: dah-AN-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “Da'an lizard, after the Da'an district in Zigong, Sichuan, China”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Daanosaurus was a long-necked plant-eater that lived in what is now China during the Late Jurassic. It is known only from a young dinosaur, so scientists are not sure how big it grew. It was probably similar to another sauropod called Bellusaurus.1

Lived

155 to 143 million years ago4

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Da'an district, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China1

Food

Plants2 3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Daanosaurus is known only from a single juvenile skeleton, so its adult size is unknown.1

Its neck bones had deep air pockets called pleurocoels, which made the skeleton lighter.2

The neural spines on its back vertebrae were broad and plate-like, not forked like in some other sauropods.2

The front chevrons (bones under the tail) were Y-shaped and did not form a closed canal.2

Its femur was long and straight, with greatly expanded ends and a well-developed fourth trochanter for muscle attachment.2

Some scientists think Daanosaurus might actually be a young mamenchisaurid, a group of long-necked sauropods from Asia.1

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

?How big was Daanosaurus?

Nobody knows for sure because only a young skeleton has been found. Scientists think it was probably similar in size to Bellusaurus, but the adult size is unknown.1

?What did Daanosaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater, like other sauropods. Its spoon-shaped teeth were good for stripping leaves off plants.1 2

?Is Daanosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a sauropod dinosaur. It lived during the Late Jurassic in what is now China.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Daanosaurus was a giant adult sauropod like many others.

Truth: The only known fossil is from a juvenile, so scientists cannot be sure how big it got as an adult.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Daanosaurus
Named by: Ye et al. 20054
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Mamenchisauridae4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda4
Age of the rocks: 155 to 143 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)4
Rock formations: Shaximiao4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Daanosaurus was named in 2005 by Ye Yong, Gao Yuhui, and Jiang Shan based on a juvenile skeleton found in the Upper Shaximiao Formation of Zigong, Sichuan. The species name zhangi honors Zhang Aiping, former Minister of National Defense.1
Still debated: Scientists debate whether Daanosaurus is a true brachiosaurid or a juvenile mamenchisaurid, because the only specimen is young and may not show all adult features.1

Where the facts come from

Daanosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
A NEW GENUS OF SAUROPOD FROM ZIGONG，SICHUAN (vertpala.ac.cn)
Daanosaurus Ye et al. 2005 data - Encyclopedia of Life (eol.org)
Daanosaurus 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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