Dino card No. 0505 of 2,027

Demandasaurus

Say it: de-MAN-dah-SORE-us

Name means: “Demanda lizard, named after the Sierra de la Demanda mountain range in Spain”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksEarly Cretaceous

Demandasaurus was a medium-sized, long-necked dinosaur that lived in what is now Spain about 125 million years ago. It was a plant-eater with a special set of teeth that had ridges on the enamel, like tiny bumps on your teeth.1

Lived

126 to 120 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Burgos Province, Spain1

Food

Plants4

Length

10 to 12 m2

estimated from the size of the bones

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 2.5 cars parked in a rowas long as 67 bananas end to end

How big was Demandasaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Demandasaurus is the first diplodocoid sauropod ever described from the Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal).2

Its closest relative is Nigersaurus, a dinosaur from Africa. This suggests that dinosaurs moved between Europe and Africa during the Early Cretaceous using a land bridge called the Apulian Route.2

The fossil skeleton of Demandasaurus was found disarticulated (bones scattered) in a river deposit, along with bones of spinosaurid theropods, small ornithopods, and a crocodile.1

Scientists identified nine unique features (autapomorphies) in the teeth and vertebrae of Demandasaurus that are not seen in any other dinosaur.2

The name Demandasaurus honors the Sierra de la Demanda mountain range, and the species name darwini celebrates the naturalist Charles Darwin.1

About 810 fossil bones and fragments were collected from the site, most belonging to a single Demandasaurus individual.1

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

?How big was Demandasaurus?

It was a medium sized sauropod, about 10 to 12 metres long. It stood about 3.5 metres tall at the hip and weighed around 5 tonnes.2 3

?What did Demandasaurus eat?

It was a plant-eater. Its teeth had special ridges on the enamel, like tiny bumps, which helped it chew tough plants.1

?Where was Demandasaurus found?

Its fossils were discovered in the Castrillo de la Reina Formation in Burgos Province, northern Spain. The site is called Tenadas de los Vallejos II.1 2

?Is Demandasaurus related to Nigersaurus?

Yes, its closest relative is Nigersaurus from Africa. This close relationship suggests that dinosaurs moved between Europe and Africa using a land bridge called the Apulian Route.1 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Demandasaurus
Named by: Torcida Fernández-Baldor et al. 20114
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Rebbachisauridae4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Diplodocoidea4
Age of the rocks: 126 to 120 million years (Barremian / Aptian)4
Rock formations: Castrillo de la Reina4
Countries: Spain4
Fossil records: 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Demandasaurus was discovered in 1999 by the Archaeological-Palaeontological Group of Salas de los Infantes, and excavations took place from 2002 to 2004. It was named in 2011 by Fidel Torcida Fernández-Baldor and colleagues.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how large Demandasaurus grew, because only one incomplete skeleton has been found.2

Where the facts come from

Demandasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Demandasaurus darwini, a new rebbachisaurid sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula (app.pan.pl)
Demandasaurus darwini (es.wikipedia.org)
Demandasaurus 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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