Name:
Hudiesaurus
(Butterfly lizard).
Phonetic: Hoo-die-sore-us.
Named By: Z. Dong - 1997.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Mamenchisauridae.
Species: H. sinojapanorum
(type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain but very roughly estimated to be up
to 30 meters long.
Known locations: China, Xinjiang - Kalazha
Formation.
Time period: Late Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Partial remains from two
individuals including a front leg, vertebra and teeth.
To put it bluntly, the remains of Hudiesaurus are very partial, but they do seem to belong to a mamenchisaurid sauropod, or in simpler terms, one like Mamenchisaurus. The remains which are known are without doubt huge, and comparison to other similar sauropod genera has resulted in an estimated length of around thirty metres for Hudiesaurus. To some this may seem impossibly big, but thirty meters seems to have been the norm for Asian sauropods with some such as Daxiatitan, as well as Huanghetitan and Ruyangosaurus to name some others which have all been estimated to be about thirty meters long despite the lack of more complete remains.
Further reading
- A gigantic sauropod (Hudiesaurus sinojapanorum
gen. et sp.
nov.) from the Turpan Basin, China, Z. Dong - 1997.