Giant herbivorous dinosaurs: bodies, fossils and changing estimates

Explore the collection

• Aragosaurus: the first dinosaur named in Spain

  Explore Aragosaurus ischiaticus, its partial skeleton from Teruel, shifting age assignments, macronarian classification and the limits of its size estimate.

• Ledumahadi: a giant before the classic sauropods

  Explore Ledumahadi mafube, an Early Jurassic South African sauropodomorph whose large body and flexed limbs reveal an early route to gigantism.

• Amazonsaurus: an early sauropod from northern Brazil

  Learn what the incomplete Itapecuru Formation skeleton reveals about Amazonsaurus, its diagnostic vertebrae, uncertain rebbachisaurid placement and approximate size.

• Antetonitrus: a heavy sauropodomorph near the origin of sauropods

  Explore Antetonitrus fossils from South Africa, its changing age and classification, robust limbs, estimated size and the limits of reconstructing its gait.

• Atlasaurus: an unusual sauropod from the High Atlas

  Atlasaurus imelakei is based on a nearly complete skeleton from Morocco’s High Atlas. Its relatively large skull, shorter neck and elongated limbs distinguish the animal from the classic long-necked image of a brachiosaur-like sauropod.

• Bagualosaurus: an early plant-eater from Triassic Brazil

  The partial skeleton UFRGS-PV-1099-T preserves an unusual skull and teeth. Bagualosaurus agudoensis documents body-plan change among Carnian sauropodomorphs in southern Brazil.

• Buriolestes: a small predator near the roots of sauropods

  Several Late Triassic specimens preserve Buriolestes schultzi, including a near-complete skull. Teeth, skeleton and a CT-based brain endocast support a small predatory sauropodomorph.

• Isanosaurus: an early sauropodomorph from Thailand

  Explore Isanosaurus attavipachi through its incomplete skeleton, disputed Nam Phong Formation age, femur and vertebrae, size estimates and debated place near Sauropoda.

• Lessemsaurus: a Triassic giant that grew in cycles

  Lessemsaurus combined a large body with cyclical bone growth. Vertebral and limb fossils from Argentina reveal a mosaic sauropodomorph, not a simple halfway step toward later sauropods.

• Limaysaurus: a Patagonian rebbachisaurid sauropod

  Explore Limaysaurus through its partial skull, forty articulated tail vertebrae, limb proportions, revised Albian age and debated subfamily placement.

• Sarahsaurus: an early dinosaur with a powerful hand

  Discover Sarahsaurus fossils from Arizona, its Kayenta Formation setting, classification, estimated size and unusual forelimb anatomy.

• Saturnalia: a small early sauropodomorph from Brazil

  A fossil-based guide to Saturnalia tupiniquim, its Carnian Brazilian skeletons, size, tooth evidence for diet and place among early sauropodomorphs.

• Spinophorosaurus: the Jurassic sauropod without tail spikes

  Discover Spinophorosaurus through its two skeletons, revised 3D body length, unusually complete vertebral column and the reinterpretation of its supposed tail spikes.

• Tazoudasaurus: an early sauropod known from a rich Moroccan sample

  Tazoudasaurus is represented by cranial remains and a growing sample of skeletons from Morocco's High Atlas. It is a basal sauropod, but its anatomy should not be presented as a simple halfway stage to later giants.

• Unaysaurus: an early sauropodomorph from southern Brazil

  Unaysaurus tolentinoi explained through its discovery in Brazil, incomplete holotype, 2023 juvenile, age, diet, size limits and changing classification.

• Bajadasaurus: the sauropod with forward-curving neck spines

  Learn what the skull and unusual 58-centimetre neck spines of Bajadasaurus preserve, and why their covering, function and full body remain uncertain.

• Bonitasaura

  Bonitasaura explained from its juvenile partial skeleton: discovery, square dentary, tooth replacement, size, pathology, classification and beak hypothesis.

• Futalognko saurus

  Futalognkosaurus explained through its nearly complete vertebral column, massive neck, revised size, Lognkosauria relationships and Patagonian quarry.

• Galeamopus: a diplodocid separated from Diplodocus

  Galeamopus is a diplodocid sauropod from Wyoming’s Morrison Formation. Specimen-level analyses separated Galeamopus hayi from Diplodocus, and a detailed skeleton later established G. pabsti, exposing how skulls and skeletons can reshape familiar museum reconstructions.

• Kaatedocus: the sauropod with a rare skull and long neck

  Learn what the Kaatedocus type skeleton preserves, why its family placement is debated and how its neck, estimated size and fossils compare with diplodocoids.

• Leinkupal: a diplodocid that survived into the Cretaceous

  A handful of vertebrae from Argentina place a diplodocid in the Early Cretaceous. Leinkupal's broad tail vertebrae are real; its complete tail, size and status as the last diplodocid are not directly known.

• Mendozasaurus

  Mendozasaurus explained through a multi-individual Argentine bone bed, broad cervical spines, revised neck proportions, limbs, feet and four osteoderms.

• Notocolossus

  Notocolossus explained through two Argentine skeletons, a 1.76-metre humerus, an articulated compact hind foot and uncertain estimates of giant size.

• Rapetosaurus

  Rapetosaurus from Madagascar explained through its skulls, associated juvenile skeleton, adult size, osteoderms and evidence for rapid early growth.

• Sarmientosaurus: the titanosaur known from its skull and neck

  Sarmientosaurus is known from an articulated skull and seven neck vertebrae from Patagonia. CT scans reveal details of its braincase, while feeding posture and body proportions remain reconstructions.

• Sauroposeidon: what four neck vertebrae can tell us

  Sauroposeidon proteles was named from four articulated cervical vertebrae found in Oklahoma’s Antlers Formation. Their extraordinary length and internal air spaces inform neck anatomy, but popular claims about the animal’s exact height and mass remain reconstructions from a limited fossil sample.

• Austrosaurus

  Austrosaurus explained from its articulated neck and trunk vertebrae: discovery, CT evidence, classification, size and how a land dinosaur reached marine sediment.

• Cetiosauriscus: the sauropod whose name had to be untangled

  Cetiosauriscus stewarti is known from a partial British Jurassic skeleton whose identity and family position changed as researchers re-examined the fossils.

• Chinshakiangosaurus: a fragmentary early sauropod from China

  Chinshakiangosaurus chunghoensis is based on fragmentary Jurassic fossils from Yunnan. Its jaw and teeth are informative, while its age and exact place among early sauropods remain uncertain.

• Guaibasaurus: an early dinosaur with no known skull

  Guaibasaurus candelariensis from Late Triassic Brazil: its partial skeletons, bipedal proportions, uncertain diet and debated place among early saurischians.

• Janenschia: the Tendaguru sauropod with a shifting classification

  Janenschia robusta is based on an associated hind limb from Tanzania’s Tendaguru Formation. A modern redescription removed misassigned vertebrae and placed it outside Neosauropoda.

• Jingshanosaurus: a nearly complete skeleton re-examined

  Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis is based on a nearly complete skeleton from Yunnan’s Lower Lufeng Formation. A modern cranial redescription revised its diagnosis and treated Chuxiongosaurus as a synonym, while its position among early sauropod relatives remains an analytical question.

• Lapparentosaurus: a sauropod known through fragments and revisions

  Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis is a Middle Jurassic sauropod from Madagascar, represented by disarticulated remains of multiple individuals. Its missing skull and uncertain skeletal associations limit body-size and phylogenetic claims.

• Ligabuesaurus: a large Early Cretaceous sauropod

  Trace the changing classification of Ligabuesaurus through its vertebrae, limbs, revised tooth-row interpretation and model-based size estimates.

• Melanorosaurus: the South African sauropodomorph with a revised fossil record

  Learn what the 2024 revision of Melanorosaurus readi changed, which bones belong to its lectotype, and why its skull, size and posture remain uncertain.

• Mussaurus: from tiny hatchlings to large adults

  Explore Mussaurus eggs and embryos, its growth series, changing limb proportions, adult size and the limits of social-behaviour evidence.

• Nemegtosaurus: the Mongolian sauropod known from a skull

  Explore Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis, a Late Cretaceous Mongolian sauropod whose taxonomic story depends on a rare skull and debated skeletal associations.

• Pantydraco: a small dinosaur known mostly from young animals

  Explore Pantydraco caducus from South Wales, its changing classification, juvenile fossils, skull and teeth, uncertain adult size and fissure-fill environment.

• Paralititan

  Paralititan explained through its giant humerus, fragmentary skeleton, Bahariya tidal-plain setting, uncertain mass and evidence of scavenging.

• Patagosaurus: a Jurassic sauropod from Patagonia

  Explore Patagosaurus fariasi, a Jurassic sauropod represented by a substantial partial skeleton from Argentina’s Cañadón Asfalto Formation.

• Quaesitosaurus: a titanosaur known from its skull

  Quaesitosaurus explained through its Shar Tsav skull, titanosaur relationships, plant-cropping teeth and the limits of body-size estimates.

• Riojasaurus: a large sauropodomorph before the true sauropods

  Riojasaurus incertus from Argentina: its holotype, the referred skull-bearing ULR 56, size range, growth evidence and uncertain gait among early sauropodomorphs.

• Sonidosaurus

  Sonidosaurus explained through its vertebrae and pelvis, adult status, uncertain age and size, rare pneumatic ilium and careful limits on reconstruction.

• Thecodontosaurus: a small dinosaur before the sauropod giants

  Discover Thecodontosaurus antiquus, an early sauropodomorph from Bristol known from hundreds of bones, its lost type and a neotype, feeding evidence and island habitat.

• Vulcanodon: an early sauropod with a misleading name

  Discover what the Vulcanodon skeleton from Lake Kariba reveals about early sauropod limbs, its revised geological setting and the misleading teeth found nearby.

• Yimenosaurus: a substantial Early Jurassic fossil with an unfinished description

  Yimenosaurus was described from partial skeletons in Yunnan, but its 1990 account has limited illustrations and modern researchers lack direct access to the specimens. Its classification and proportions need renewed study.

• Yuanmousaurus: a large sauropod known mainly from its backbones

  Yuanmousaurus is known from one incomplete skeleton from Yunnan. Its unusual dorsal vertebrae support a distinct diagnosis, while its family placement and estimated 17-metre length remain uncertain.

• Aegyptosaurus

  Aegyptosaurus explained from Stromer's lost Bahariya skeleton: discovery, surviving records, anatomy, size estimates, classification and uncertain reconstruction.

• Ampelosaurus

  Ampelosaurus from southern France: diagnostic vertebrae, osteoderms, estimated size, growth, relationships and the limits of a mixed bone-bed sample.

• Bellusaurus: a juvenile sauropod from Jurassic China

  More than a dozen young sauropods from the Shishugou Formation underpin Bellusaurus sui. Their skulls and growth stage are informative, but the adult animal remains unknown.

• Brachytrachelopan: a sauropod with an exceptionally short neck

  Brachytrachelopan explained through its articulated vertebrae, short neck, growth evidence, Patagonian setting and reconstruction limits.

• Chubutisaurus: what a revised skeleton revealed

  Chubutisaurus insignis is a large Patagonian sauropod known from a partial skeleton. A 2011 redescription expanded its diagnosis and placed it near the base of Somphospondyli.

• Coloradisaurus: an early dinosaur from Argentina’s Los Colorados Formation

  Coloradisaurus brevis explained through its naming history, two partial skeletons, Norian setting, size estimates, growth evidence and uncertain classification.

• Datousaurus: a sauropod from the Dashanpu beds

  Datousaurus bashanensis is a sauropod from the Dashanpu fossil beds of Sichuan. Its partial skull and skeleton help distinguish it from better-known Jurassic relatives.

• Erketu: the long-necked sauropod of Mongolia

  Erketu ellisoni is known chiefly from an articulated series of unusually elongated neck vertebrae from Mongolia. The missing skull, trunk and tail make its total size and feeding posture uncertain.

• Europasaurus: a small sauropod from a Jurassic island

  Europasaurus was an adult sauropod only about six metres long. Explore its German fossils, growth evidence, island dwarfism and debated classification.

• Isisaurus: an unusual Indian titanosaur

  Isisaurus explained through its associated titanosaur skeleton, short neck vertebrae, uncertain size estimates and Lameta Formation environment.

• Jobaria: a broad fossil sample, an unsettled geological age

  Jobaria tiguidensis is known from unusually extensive sauropod remains found in Niger. Its age changed when the Tiouraren Formation was reassessed, making the fossils a case study in why a dinosaur’s anatomy and the age of its rocks must be evaluated separately.

• Kotasaurus: an early sauropod from India

  Explore Kotasaurus, the Early Jurassic sauropod from Telangana known from at least twelve individuals, sparse skull material and unusual tail bones.

• Lusotitan: a Portuguese sauropod recovered from old collections

  Lusotitan atalaiensis was separated from material once assigned to Brachiosaurus and redescribed from fossils in Portuguese collections. The lectotype is a set of associated but incomplete bones, not a complete mounted skeleton.

• Magyarosaurus

  Magyarosaurus from Romania: mature dwarf bones, revised species, uncertain length estimates and the evidence for island dwarfism on Hațeg Island.

• Argentinosaurus and Patagotitan: two giants, no certain winner

  Compare Argentinosaurus and Patagotitan through their fossils, ages and body-mass estimates. The better-known skeleton is not automatically the heavier animal.

• Brontosaurus: the diplodocid genus restored

  Brontosaurus explained through its species, Morrison Formation fossils, changing classification, estimated size and the evidence separating it from Apatosaurus.

• Dreadnoughtus

  Dreadnoughtus explained through its two Patagonian skeletons, exceptional postcranial record, growth evidence and competing estimates of length and mass.

• Giraffatitan: the high-shouldered sauropod of Tendaguru

  Giraffatitan explained through Tendaguru fossils, its distinction from Brachiosaurus, the composite Berlin mount and uncertain size estimates.

• Patagotitan

  A detailed Patagotitan guide covering six individuals from Patagonia, 31–37 m length, 42–71 tonne estimates, anatomy, habitat and the size-record debate.

• Aardonyx: an early sauropodomorph approaching the sauropod body plan

  Aardonyx explained through two immature South African skeletons, its growth, feeding, feet, locomotion and position close to the origin of sauropods.

• What Cretaceous herbivorous dinosaurs ate

  Teeth, jaws, plant fossils and gut contents reveal varied Cretaceous dinosaur diets. Flowering plants expanded, but they did not simply replace every older food source.

• Did Jurassic sauropods feed at different heights?

  Long necks suggest a broad feeding range, but they do not prove fixed feeding tiers. Fossil teeth, body proportions and isotope research test how Jurassic sauropods shared vegetation.

• What did herbivorous dinosaurs eat?

  What plant-eating dinosaurs consumed, how their teeth processed fibrous food, and what rare gut contents, wear and gastroliths can actually establish.

• Which dinosaurs used their tails as weapons?

  Compare diplodocid tails, ankylosaur clubs, stegosaur spikes and Shunosaurus, and learn what fossils and models can actually show.

• Alamosaurus

  Alamosaurus explained from its fragmentary fossils: late Maastrichtian age, type material, size, disputed armour and the proposed separation of Utetitan.

• Malawisaurus

  Malawisaurus explained from skull bones, teeth, vertebrae, limbs and an osteoderm: discovery, composite skeleton, size, anatomy and Early Cretaceous habitat.

• Hypselosaurus

  Hypselosaurus explained from fragmentary French bones: why the genus is doubtful, what its size means and why famous fossil eggs cannot be assigned to it.

• Argyrosaurus

  Argyrosaurus explained from its huge left forelimb: discovery, holotype, rejected assignments, anatomy, age, classification and honest limits on its size.

• Neuquensaurus

  Neuquensaurus explained from several Patagonian skeletons: naming history, anatomy, osteoderms, size, broad-gauge stance, habitat and uncertain behaviour.

• Saltasaurus

  Saltasaurus explained through its Argentine fossils, body size, osteoderms, anatomy, diet and the limits of evidence linking it with titanosaur nesting grounds.

• Antarctosaurus: the problem of a composite type series

  Antarctosaurus wichmannianus is represented by a historically important but taxonomically difficult assemblage from Argentina. Its type series, square-jawed skull and uncertain body size show why a dinosaur name can outlast confidence in the fossils grouped beneath it.

• Argentinosaurus: giant bones and an incomplete skeleton

  Argentinosaurus explained through its fragmentary holotype, giant vertebrae, disputed size estimates, Huincul environment and reconstruction limits.

• Titanosaurs: diversity among the Cretaceous giants

  Titanosaurs ranged from modest island forms to enormous sauropods. Explore their anatomy, global Cretaceous record, fossil eggs and the limits of size estimates.

• Seismosaurus

  A complete guide to Seismosaurus, holotype NMMNH P-3690, the mistaken 50-metre reconstruction and its current identity as Diplodocus hallorum.

• Ultrasauros: a giant assembled from different sauropods

  Ultrasauros is a historical replacement name whose type vertebra is assigned to Supersaurus. Learn how a mixed quarry assemblage created a giant chimera and why the name remains in catalogues.

• Supersaurus: a leading contender for the longest dinosaur

  Supersaurus explained through fossils from Colorado and Wyoming, the Jimbo skeleton, debated 39–42 m estimates and the history of Ultrasauros.

• Amargasaurus: a dicraeosaurid with paired neck spines

  Explore Amargasaurus fossils from Patagonia, its distinctive paired vertebral spines, dicraeosaurid relationships and the uncertain soft-tissue crest hypothesis.

• Barosaurus: a long-necked sauropod of the Morrison Formation

  Learn what Barosaurus fossils reveal about its elongated neck, size, feeding reach and relationship to Diplodocus, and where estimates remain uncertain.

• Mamenchisaurus: Chinese sauropods with extraordinary necks

  A detailed guide to Mamenchisaurus species, Chinese fossils, extreme neck estimates, disputed classification and the difference between measured bones and reconstruction.

• Dicraeosaurus: a short-necked sauropod from Tendaguru

  Discover Dicraeosaurus, the Tanzanian sauropod that named Dicraeosauridae, its two species, split vertebral spines and the limits of its fossil record.

• Apatosaurus: the massive diplodocid of the Late Jurassic

  Explore Apatosaurus fossils, the corrected skull reconstruction, its size, diet and place among Morrison Formation sauropods. Evidence and estimates are clearly distinguished.

• Diplodocus

  A detailed Diplodocus guide covering species, Carnegie Quarry fossils, 24–32 m size estimates, skull, neck, whip-like tail, feeding and growth.

• South American dinosaur discoveries from the Triassic to Patagonia

  Follow South American dinosaur discoveries from Triassic Argentina and Brazil to Patagonia’s Cretaceous giants, and see how local fieldwork changed the record.

• Haplocanthosaurus: the sauropod with simple spines

  Haplocanthosaurus is a sparsely known Jurassic sauropod from western North America. Its incomplete, skull-less specimens leave its exact place on the sauropod family tree unsettled.

• Shunosaurus: a sauropod with a bony tail club

  Meet Shunosaurus, a Middle Jurassic Chinese sauropod known for substantial fossils and a distinctive bony tail-tip club. See what the bones do and do not reveal.

• Barapasaurus: an early giant among Indian sauropods

  Barapasaurus explained through its Kota Formation bonebed, early sauropod anatomy, composite skeleton, uncertain size and Indian habitat.

• Cetiosaurus: an early large sauropod of the Middle Jurassic

  Explore Cetiosaurus fossils from Oxfordshire and Rutland, its changing species list, anatomy, estimated size and the correction of an early marine interpretation.

• Dinosaur size comparison

  Compare dinosaur length and mass with people, buses and elephants. Try representative estimates for Velociraptor, T. rex, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus and Patagotitan.

• How did herbivorous dinosaurs feed?

  How sauropods, stegosaurs, hadrosaurs and ceratopsians fed on changing Mesozoic floras, and what teeth and gut contents can actually show.

• Euhelopus: the Chinese sauropod known from a rare skull

  Explore Euhelopus fossils from Shandong, its long neck, changing classification, estimated size and the limits of reconstructing this Early Cretaceous sauropod.

• Opisthocoeli caudia

  Opisthocoelicaudia explained through its near-complete postcranial skeleton, unusual tail, estimated size and unresolved relationship with Nemegtosaurus.

• Camarasaurus: the chambered Jurassic sauropod

  Meet Camarasaurus, a well-represented Morrison Formation sauropod with a deep skull, chambered vertebrae and a shorter neck than many relatives.

• Brachiosaurus

  A detailed Brachiosaurus guide covering its incomplete Colorado skeleton, 18–22 m size, long forelimbs, feeding, and its difference from Giraffatitan.

• Omeisaurus: a long-necked sauropod from Jurassic China

  Explore Omeisaurus fossils from Sichuan, its long neck, disputed species, estimated size and the uncertain tail club shown in older reconstructions.

• How sauropods lived as land giants

  How sauropods used long necks, column-like limbs and air-filled respiratory structures, and what fossils reveal about their growth, nests and social lives.

• Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus: similarities and differences

  Compare Brachiosaurus and Camarasaurus by limb proportions, skull, teeth, feeding height, size and place among Morrison Formation sauropods.

No pages match that search. Try another title or term.