Dino card No. 1845 of 2,027

Turiasaurus

Say it: too-ree-ah-SORE-us

Name means: “Turia lizard”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Turiasaurus was one of the biggest dinosaurs that ever lived in Europe. It was a giant, long-necked plant-eater that weighed as much as 10 elephants! Its fossils were found in Spain, and scientists think it may have been the heaviest land animal in Europe during the Jurassic period.1 2

Lived

155 to 143 million years ago5

Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Teruel Province, Spain1 3

Food

Plants3 1

Length

21 to 30 m1

estimates vary; earlier estimates suggested up to 39 m

Weight

30 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 7 cars parked in a rowas long as 170 bananas end to endas heavy as 10000 watermelons

How big was Turiasaurus compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Turiasaurus had a surprisingly small skull, only about 70 centimeters long. Scientists think a bigger head might have made it break its own neck.1

Its upper arm bone (humerus) was 1.79 meters long, longer than most adult humans are tall.2

Turiasaurus belongs to a group called Turiasauria, which includes other European sauropods like Losillasaurus and Galvesaurus.1 2

It lived during the Late Jurassic, about 155 to 146 million years ago, in what is now Spain.1 3

The first fossils of Turiasaurus were found in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, and included an arm, skull pieces, teeth, and ribs.1

Turiasaurus was not a neosauropod, meaning it belonged to a more primitive branch of the sauropod family tree.1

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

?How big was Turiasaurus?

Turiasaurus was one of the largest dinosaurs ever found in Europe. It was about 25 to 30 metres long and weighed around 40 to 51 tonnes.1 2

?What did Turiasaurus eat?

Turiasaurus was a plant-eater, or herbivore. It used its long neck to reach leaves and ferns high up in trees.4

?When did Turiasaurus live?

Turiasaurus lived during the Late Jurassic period, about 155 to 146 million years ago.1

?Where was Turiasaurus found?

Fossils of Turiasaurus were found in Spain, in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation of Riodeva, Teruel Province.1

?Was Turiasaurus bigger than T. rex?

Yes, Turiasaurus was much bigger than T. rex. Turiasaurus was a giant sauropod that could reach 30 metres long, while T. rex was only about 12 metres long.1

Ask Rex about Turiasaurus

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Turiasaurus
Named by: Royo-Torres et al. 20065
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Turiasauria5
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda5
Age of the rocks: 155 to 143 million years (Kimmeridgian / Tithonian)5
Rock formations: Villar del Arzobispo5
Countries: Spain5
Fossil records: 5 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Turiasaurus was named in 2006 by paleontologists Rafael Royo-Torres, Alberto Cobos, and Luis Alcalá. The fossils were found in Riodeva, Teruel Province, Spain.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure about the exact size of Turiasaurus. Early estimates suggested it could be up to 39 meters long, but newer studies think it was between 21 and 30 meters.1

Where the facts come from

Turiasaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
A Giant European Dinosaur and a New Sauropod Clade (science.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Europe's largest dinosaur unearthed in Spain | New Scientist (newscientist.com)
Turiasaurus 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.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex