Datousaurus

Datousaurus lived alongside other sauropods like Shunosaurus and Omeisaurus, as well as the early stegosaur Huayangosaurus.1

Its name is a pun on the Chinese words 'da tou', meaning 'big head', because it had a large skull for a sauropod.1

Only two partial skeletons have been found, and neither had a skull attached, though one skull was found nearby.1

Its vertebrae were elongated, giving it a higher reach than its relative Shunosaurus, so they may have fed at different heights to avoid competition.1

The species name bashanensis comes from a poetic phrase for the mountains and rivers of Sichuan, where it was discovered.1

Fossils of Datousaurus are rare, which scientists think means it may not have lived in big herds like some other sauropods.1