Dino card No. 0492 of 2,027

Datousaurus

Say it: dah-too-SORE-us

Name means: “chieftain lizard or big-head lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksMiddle Jurassic to Late Jurassic

Datousaurus was a long-necked plant-eater that lived in China during the Middle Jurassic. It had a big, deep skull for a sauropod and may have used its height to reach high branches.1 2

Lived

175 to 155 million years ago3

Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic

Fossils found in

Sichuan province, China1 3

Food

Plants1 2

Length

10 to 15 m1 2

estimates vary; one source says 10 to 13.9 m, another says 15 m

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 3 cars parked in a rowas long as 83 bananas end to end

How big was Datousaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Datousaurus lived alongside other sauropods like Shunosaurus and Omeisaurus, as well as the early stegosaur Huayangosaurus.1

Its name is a pun on the Chinese words 'da tou', meaning 'big head', because it had a large skull for a sauropod.1

Only two partial skeletons have been found, and neither had a skull attached, though one skull was found nearby.1

Its vertebrae were elongated, giving it a higher reach than its relative Shunosaurus, so they may have fed at different heights to avoid competition.1

The species name bashanensis comes from a poetic phrase for the mountains and rivers of Sichuan, where it was discovered.1

Fossils of Datousaurus are rare, which scientists think means it may not have lived in big herds like some other sauropods.1

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

?How big was Datousaurus?

It was about 15 metres (49 feet) long, though some estimates say 10 to 13.9 metres (33 to 46 feet).2 1

?What did Datousaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater (herbivore). Its spoon-shaped teeth helped it eat different plants, possibly from high branches.1 2

?Why did Datousaurus have a big head?

Its name means 'big head' in Chinese because it had a deep, large skull for a sauropod. Scientists are not sure why, but it may have helped it eat tough plants.1

?Did Datousaurus live in herds?

Probably not. Its fossils are rare, so scientists think it may not have lived in big groups like some other sauropods.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Datousaurus
Named by: Dong and Tang 19843
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Eusauropoda3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda3
Age of the rocks: 175 to 155 million years (Aalenian / Oxfordian)3
Rock formations: Shaximiao3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Datousaurus was named by Chinese paleontologists Dong Zhiming and Tang Zilu in 1984, based on fossils from the Lower Shaximiao Formation in Sichuan.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Datousaurus was, because only a few bones have been found, and different estimates give lengths from 10 to 15 metres.1 2

Where the facts come from

Datousaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Datousaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Datousaurus 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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