Dino card No. 1566 of 2,027

Ruyangosaurus

Say it: roo-YANG-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “Ruyang County lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksEarly Cretaceous

Ruyangosaurus was a gigantic, long-necked plant-eater that lived in what is now China. It was one of the biggest dinosaurs ever found in Asia, maybe as long as three school buses!1

Lived

121 to 100 million years ago2

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Ruyang County, Henan Province, China1

Food

Plants2

Length

24.8 to 35 m1

scientists give different estimates, from about 25 to 35 metres

Weight

34 tonnes to 50 tonnes1

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 8 elephants

as long as 8 cars parked in a rowas long as 190 bananas end to endas heavy as 10000 watermelons

How big was Ruyangosaurus compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Ruyangosaurus had a thigh bone (femur) that was 207 centimetres long, longer than a tall adult person.1

Its shin bone (tibia) was 127 centimetres long, showing it was a truly giant dinosaur.1

Ruyangosaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 121 to 100 million years ago.2

It shared its home with other dinosaurs like Xianshanosaurus, Yunmenglong, and the small meat-eater Luoyanggia.1

The name Ruyangosaurus means 'Ruyang County lizard', after the place in China where its bones were found.1

Some scientists think Ruyangosaurus was a type of titanosaur, a group of huge long-necked dinosaurs.1

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

?How big was Ruyangosaurus?

Scientists disagree on its size. One estimate says it was about 30 metres (98 feet) long and weighed over 50 tonnes, while another says 24.8 metres (81 feet) and 34 tonnes. A third estimate suggests it may have been as long as 35 metres (115 feet).1

?What did Ruyangosaurus eat?

Ruyangosaurus was a plant-eater. As a sauropod, it ate leaves and other plants.1

?When did Ruyangosaurus live?

Ruyangosaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 121 to 100 million years ago.1

?Where was Ruyangosaurus found?

Its fossils were found in Ruyang County, Henan, China, in the Haoling Formation.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Ruyangosaurus
Named by: Lü et al. 20092
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Euhelopodidae2
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Macronaria2
Age of the rocks: 121 to 100 million years (Aptian / Albian)2
Rock formations: Haoling2
Countries: China2
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Ruyangosaurus was named in 2009 by Lü Junchang and his team, based on fossils found in the Haoling Formation of Henan, China.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Ruyangosaurus was, with different estimates ranging from 25 to 35 metres long.1

Where the facts come from

Ruyangosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Ruyangosaurus 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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