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.
Species: Y. youngi (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
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.
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.
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