Dino card No. 1839 of 2,027

Tuebingosaurus

Say it: too-BING-oh-SORE-us

Name means: “Tübingen lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Triassic

Tuebingosaurus was a long-necked dinosaur that lived in what is now Germany about 210 million years ago. It walked on four legs and was a plant-eater, like the giant sauropods that came later. Its bones were mistaken for another dinosaur for 100 years before scientists realized it was something new!1 2

Lived

227 to 206 million years ago4

Late Triassic

Fossils found in

Trossingen, Swabian Alb, Germany1 2

Food

Plants2 4

Length

7.8 m3

largest known specimen

Weight

1 tonnes3

largest known specimen

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 33 big dogs

as long as 8 dogs nose to tailas long as 43 bananas end to endas heavy as 200 watermelons

How big was Tuebingosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Tuebingosaurus was first discovered in 1922, but scientists thought it was a Plateosaurus for 100 years.1 2

Its hips were broader and stronger than those of Plateosaurus, with fused sacral vertebrae, which helped it walk on all fours.2

Tuebingosaurus lived in a swampy area and probably died by sinking into a swamp. Its left-side bones were exposed to the weather for years.2

The dinosaur's name honors the city of Tübingen, Germany, where the fossils are kept.1 2

Some scientists think Tuebingosaurus might be a very early relative of giant sauropods like Brachiosaurus and Diplodocus.1 2

The species name maierfritzorum honors two German zoologists, Wolfgang Maier and Uwe Fritz.1 2

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

?How big was Tuebingosaurus?

Its exact size is not known from the sources, but it was a medium-sized sauropodomorph, smaller than later giant sauropods. The fossils include a partial skeleton with broad hips and robust leg bones, suggesting it was a fairly large early dinosaur.1 2

?What did Tuebingosaurus eat?

Tuebingosaurus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It lived in a swampy area and likely fed on the vegetation there.2

?Is Tuebingosaurus a dinosaur?

Yes, Tuebingosaurus is a dinosaur. It is a massopodan sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic.1 4

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think Tuebingosaurus was just a Plateosaurus.

Truth: Scientists now know it was a different dinosaur, with stronger hips and leg bones that show it walked on four legs, unlike Plateosaurus.1 2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Tuebingosaurus
Named by: Regalado Fernández and Werneburg 20224
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Massopoda4
Classification: Sauropodomorpha4
Age of the rocks: 227 to 206 million years (Norian)4
Rock formations: Löwenstein4
Countries: Germany4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: The skeleton was dug up in 1922 near Trossingen, Germany, and stored at the University of Tübingen. In 2022, scientists Omar Rafael Regalado Fernández and Ingmar Werneburg re-examined it and named it Tuebingosaurus maierfritzorum.1 2
Still debated: Some scientists in 2025 argued that the unique features of Tuebingosaurus might be from damaged bones, so they think it could be a doubtful name. More research is needed.1

Where the facts come from

Tuebingosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Previously unknown species of dinosaur identified in south-western Germany | Press Releases | Senckenberg Nature Research (senckenberg.de)
Tuebingosaurus maierfritzorum | Dinosaur Database by DinoAnimals.com (dinoanimals.com)
Tuebingosaurus 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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