Yimenosaurus

Yi-men-o-sore-us.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

Cite Feedback Print

Name

Yimenosaurus ‭(‬Yimen lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Yi-men-o-sore-us.

Named By

Z.‭ ‬bai,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Yang‭ & ‬G.‭ ‬Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬1990.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

Y.‭ ‬youngi‭

Size

Roughly about‭ ‬9‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Yimen‭ ‬-‭ ‬Fengjiahe Formation.

Time Period

Hettangian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial skeletons of at least ten individuals,‭ ‬and one skull.

In Depth

       Yimenosaurus is one of the more popular sauropodomorph dinosaurs thanks to the large number of fossils from several individuals that make up the genus.‭ ‬At the time of writing the only uncertainty concerning Yimenosaurus are the limbs,‭ ‬which have a distinct lack of representation.‭ ‬Yimenosaurus is also known to have easily attained sizes of up to nine meters‭ ‬long,‭ ‬with some estimates hinting at a slightly‭ ‬larger size than this,‭ ‬which easily make Yimenosaurus one‭ ‬of the largest sauropodomorph dinosaurs that we have discovered thus far.

       Yimenosaurus lived in China at the beginning of the Jurassic period,‭ ‬and already the future quadrupedal body form of the later sauropod dinosaurs which will be descended from sauropodomorphs is already apparent.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new genus of prosauropod from the Yuxi‭ (‬region‭) ‬of Yunnan Province‭ [‬Yunnan Yuxi yuanxijiao lei yi xin shu‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Yuxi Cultural Organization‭ ‬-‭ ‬Z.‭ ‬bai,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Yang‭ & ‬G.‭ ‬Wang‭ ‬-‭ ‬1990.

Adopt A Species
prehistoric-wildlife new logo

Love this species?

Adopt it today!

(UPDATED!)

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT