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Xenoposeidon

Say it: ZEE-no-poh-SY-don

Name means: “strange earth-shaker”1

Ate: PlantsLong-necksEarly Cretaceous

Xenoposeidon was a long-necked sauropod that lived in what is now England during the Early Cretaceous. It is known from just one back bone, but that bone is so weird that scientists gave it a new name. This dinosaur was probably smaller than many of its giant relatives.2 1

Lived

139 to 133 million years ago5

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Ecclesbourne Glen, near Hastings, East Sussex, England3 1

Food

Plants1 5

Length

15 to 20 m1 3

estimate depends on whether it was built like Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus

Weight

2.8 tonnes to 7.6 tonnes1 3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 4 cars parked in a rowas long as 110 bananas end to endas heavy as 5 carsas heavy as 1.5 elephantsas heavy as 1500 watermelons

How big was Xenoposeidon compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Xenoposeidon is the earliest known rebbachisaurid sauropod, about 10 million years older than any other member of its family.2

The only fossil of Xenoposeidon is a single partial back vertebra, which was first described in 1893 but then ignored for over a century.1 3

The neural arch of the vertebra slopes forward at 35 degrees, which is very unusual among sauropods.3

The vertebra has an M-shaped pattern of bony ridges on its side, a feature shared with the Moroccan sauropod Rebbachisaurus.2

Scientists used 3D computer models to study the complex shape of the vertebra and figure out what kind of dinosaur it belonged to.2

Xenoposeidon lived during the earliest part of the Cretaceous Period, about 139 to 133 million years ago.5

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

?How big was Xenoposeidon?

About 15 to 20 metres long and weighed between 2.8 and 7.6 tonnes, depending on whether it was built like Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus.4 3

?What did Xenoposeidon eat?

It was a herbivore, eating plants like other sauropods.4

?When did Xenoposeidon live?

It lived during the earliest Cretaceous, about 139 to 133 million years ago.4 2

?Is Xenoposeidon a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a sauropod dinosaur.4 2

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Xenoposeidon
Named by: Taylor and Naish 20075
Group: Long-necks
Family / clade: Rebbachisauridae5
Classification: Sauropodomorpha > Sauropoda > Diplodocoidea5
Age of the rocks: 139 to 133 million years (Berriasian / Valanginian)5
Rock formations: Ashdown5
Countries: United Kingdom5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Fossil collector Philip James Rufford found the vertebra in the early 1890s near Hastings, England. It was briefly described by Richard Lydekker in 1893, but then sat on a museum shelf until paleontologist Mike Taylor rediscovered it and named it Xenoposeidon proneneukos in 2007 with Darren Naish.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how big Xenoposeidon was because only one bone has been found. Depending on whether it was built like Brachiosaurus or Diplodocus, it could have been 15 to 20 metres long and weighed between 2.8 and 7.6 tonnes.1 3

Where the facts come from

Xenoposeidon (en.wikipedia.org)
Xenoposeidon is the earliest known rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
AN UNUSUAL NEW NEOSAUROPOD DINOSAUR FROM THE LOWER CRETACEOUS HASTINGS BEDS GROUP OF EAST SUSSEX, ENGLAND (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)
Xenoposeidon (en.wikipedia.org)
Xenoposeidon in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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