Tendaguria
Tendaguria was a giant, long-necked plant-eater that stomped through Late Jurassic Tanzania. It had special holes in its back bones that no other sauropod had. This gentle giant probably used its long neck to munch leaves high up in trees.13
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Fun facts
Tendaguria had two distinct cavities on the diapophyses of its anterior dorsal vertebrae, a feature that distinguishes it from other sauropods.1
It is unique among turiasaurs in having a defined ridge in the middle of the anteriormost dorsal spines.1
The type specimen consists of two anterior dorsal vertebrae, probably from the same individual, found a short distance apart.1
Tendaguria lived about 149 to 145 million years ago, during the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic.13
A cervical vertebra referred to Tendaguria shows some similarities to Camarasaurus, another long-necked sauropod.1
The fossils were found in the Upper Saurian Bed of the Tendaguru Series, which is famous for many other dinosaurs.1
Most asked questions about Tendaguria
?How big was Tendaguria?
Tendaguria was a large sauropod, with its length estimated at about 20 metres (66 feet).1
?What did Tendaguria eat?
Tendaguria was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It probably used its long neck to munch leaves high up in trees.31
?When did Tendaguria live?
Tendaguria lived during the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic, about 149 to 145 million years ago.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Some people think Tendaguria was a titanosaur, a type of giant sauropod.
Truth: Scientists now think Tendaguria was a turiasaur, a different group of sauropods, based on detailed studies of its back bones.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Tendaguria
- Named by
- Bonaparte et al. 20003
- Group
- Long-necks
- Family / clade
- Turiasauria3
- Classification
- Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda3
- Age of the rocks
- 149 to 143 million years (Tithonian)3
- Rock formations
- Tendaguru3
- Countries
- Tanzania3
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- In 1911, German geologist Wilhelm Bornhardt discovered two sauropod vertebrae near Tendaguru Hill in Tanzania. They were described in 1929 but not named until 2000, when José Bonaparte, Wolf-Dieter Heinrich, and Rupert Wild gave them the name Tendaguria tanzaniensis.1
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate exactly where Tendaguria fits in the sauropod family tree. Some studies place it with turiasaurs, while others have suggested it might be closer to titanosaurs.1
Where the facts come from
- Tendaguria (en.wikipedia.org)
- Tendaguria tanzaniensis | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
- Tendaguria in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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