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Gannansaurus

Say it: gan-an-SORE-us

Name means: “Gannan lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Cretaceous

Gannansaurus was a giant, long-necked plant-eater that lived in what is now China. It is known from just two back bones, but those bones show it was a close relative of another famous sauropod called Euhelopus.1 2

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago5

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Ganzhou Basin, Jiangxi Province, southern China1 2

Food

Plants3

Length

up to 25 m1

estimate

Weight

up to 21 tonnes4

estimate

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 4 elephants

as long as 6 cars parked in a rowas long as 140 bananas end to endas heavy as 14 carsas heavy as 4200 watermelons

How big was Gannansaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Gannansaurus is known from only two vertebrae: one from the back and one from the tail.1 2

The fossils were found at a construction site near Longling Town, and most of the skeleton was destroyed by the building work.1

Gannansaurus lived during the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 to 72 million years ago.3

It shared a special K-shaped pattern of ridges on its vertebrae with the sauropod Euhelopus, suggesting they were close cousins.1 2

Gannansaurus may have grown up to 25 metres (82 feet) long, as long as two school buses.1

The top predator in its ecosystem was the tyrannosaur Qianzhousaurus, a smaller relative of T. rex.1

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

?How big was Gannansaurus?

Gannansaurus was about 25 metres (82 feet) long, as long as two school buses.1

?What did Gannansaurus eat?

Gannansaurus was a plant-eater, like other sauropods. It ate leaves and other plants.1

?When did Gannansaurus live?

Gannansaurus lived during the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 to 72 million years ago.1

?Is Gannansaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Gannansaurus is a dinosaur. It is a type of sauropod, which is a long-necked plant-eating dinosaur.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Gannansaurus
Named by: Lü et al. 20135
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Somphospondyli5
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Macronaria5
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)5
Countries: China5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Gannansaurus was named in 2013 by Lü Junchang, Yi Laiping, Zhong Hui and Wei Xuefang. The fossils were found at a construction site near Longling Town in Ganzhou, China, and only two vertebrae were saved.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how Gannansaurus is related to other sauropods. Some studies say it was close to Euhelopus, while others place it as a more basic titanosauriform.1 2

Where the facts come from

Gannansaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
A New Somphospondylan Sauropod (Dinosauria, Titanosauriformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province of Southern China - Junchang - 2013 - Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition - Wiley Online Library (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Gannansaurus sinensis | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
Gannansaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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