Euhelopus
Euhelopus was a long-necked dinosaur that munched on plants. It lived in what is now China during the Early Cretaceous period. This dinosaur was one of the first ever found in China!1
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Fun facts
Euhelopus had longer front legs than back legs, like a giraffe.1
Its neck was about 4 metres long and made of 17 vertebrae.1
The first fossils were found by a priest in 1913, but the dinosaur was named in 1929.1
Euhelopus was originally called Helopus, but that name was already used for a bird, so it was changed.1
Scientists think Euhelopus is closely related to titanosaurs, a group of huge sauropods.1
Its bones had many tiny air pockets, making them lighter.1
Most asked questions about Euhelopus
?How big was Euhelopus?
Scientists disagree on its size. Some earlier estimates said it was about 15 metres (49 feet) long and weighed 15 to 20 tonnes (17 to 22 short tons). Newer estimates suggest it was about 11 metres (36 feet) long and weighed around 3.5 to 5.9 tonnes (3.9 to 6.5 short tons).1
?What did Euhelopus eat?
Euhelopus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. Its strong, broad teeth and skull shape suggest it fed on tough, hardy vegetation.15
?When did Euhelopus live?
Euhelopus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, between about 143 and 133 million years ago.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Euhelopus
- Named by
- Romer 19566
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Euhelopodidae6
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Macronaria6
- Age of the rocks
- 143 to 100 million years (Berriasian / Albian)6
- Rock formations
- Mengyin, Shahai, Yixian6
- Countries
- China6
- Fossil records
- 5 in the Paleobiology Database6
- Also known as
- Helopus (older names now counted as the same animal)6
- Discovery
- The first Euhelopus fossils were found by a priest in 1913 in China. They were dug up in 1923 by Otto Zdansky, and the dinosaur was named Helopus by Carl Wiman in 1929. Later the name was changed to Euhelopus in 1956.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure if Euhelopus is more closely related to Mamenchisaurus-like sauropods or to titanosaurs.1
Where the facts come from
- Euhelopus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Euhelopus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Euhelopus zdanskyi (thesauropodomorphlair.wordpress.com)
- Euhelopus zdanskyi skeletal reconstructions (deviantart.com)
- Reconstruction of the Holotype Skull of Euhelopus zdanskyi with Description of Additional Cranial Elements (journals.plos.org)
- Euhelopus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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