Dino card No. 0742 of 2,027

Gongxianosaurus

Say it: GONG-xee-ah-no-SORE-us

Name means: “Gongxian lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksEarly Jurassic

Gongxianosaurus was an early long-necked dinosaur that walked on all four legs. It lived about 190 million years ago in what is now China, and it was one of the first true sauropods.1 3

Lived

184 to 175 million years ago3

Early Jurassic

Fossils found in

Sichuan Province, China1 2

Food

Plants3

Length

14 m1 2

estimated adult length

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 78 bananas end to end

How big was Gongxianosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Gongxianosaurus is one of the most completely known early sauropods, with nearly the whole skeleton found except for the skull and hands.1

Its front legs were long, about 70 to 75 percent the length of its back legs, which helped it walk on all fours.1

Unlike later sauropods, Gongxianosaurus did not have air pockets (pleurocoels) in its vertebrae, so its backbone was solid and heavy.1

Its tail had simple, unbranched chevron bones, which is a primitive feature not seen in many later sauropods.1

The fossils were discovered in May 1997 during a geological survey near the village of Shibei in Sichuan, China.1 2

Gongxianosaurus lived at the same time as the prosauropod Lufengosaurus but earlier than the sauropod Shunosaurus.1

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

?How big was Gongxianosaurus?

It may have reached about 14 metres (46 ft) in length.1

?What did Gongxianosaurus eat?

Like other sauropods, it was a plant eater. Its spoon shaped teeth were good for stripping leaves.2

?When did Gongxianosaurus live?

It lived during the Early Jurassic Period, about 199 to 183 million years ago.1

?Where was Gongxianosaurus found?

Its fossils were discovered near the village of Shibei in Sichuan Province, China.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Gongxianosaurus
Named by: He et al. 19983
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Sauropodiformes3
Classification: Sauropodomorpha3
Age of the rocks: 184 to 175 million years (Toarcian)3
Rock formations: Ziliujing3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Gongxianosaurus was named in 1998 by paleontologist He Xinlu and colleagues based on fossils found near Shibei village in Gongxian County, Sichuan, China.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if some of the bones belong to a second species of Gongxianosaurus or to a different dinosaur called Yibinosaurus.1

Where the facts come from

Gongxianosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
A new species of sauropod from the Early Jurassic of Gongxian Co., Sichuan (naturalhistory.si.edu)
Gongxianosaurus 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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