Name:
Huanghetitan
(Huang He titan, after the Huang He (Yellow) River).
Phonetic: Hu-ang-he-tie-tan.
Named By: H. You, D. Li, L. Zhou
& Q. Ji - 2006.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Titanosauriformes.
Species: H. liujiaxiaensis
(type), H. ruyangensis.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Roughly estimated about 30 meters long,
possibly larger.
Known locations: China, Gansu Province, Henan
Province.
Time period: Early to Turonian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of two
individuals.
With a rib that is three meters long, Huanghetitan is thought to have had one of the deepest bodies of any known animal. This is but a hint of the size of this sauropod dinosaur which is considered to have been one of the largest sauropods (and by extension vertebrates) to ever walk on land. Huanghetitan may not be unique either with other early Cretaceous genera from China such as Daxiatitan and Ruyangosaurus also being of comparable size.
Further reading
- Huanghetitan liujiaxiaensis, a New Sauropod Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Hekou Group of
Lanzhou Basin, Gansu Province, China, H. You, D. Li, L.
Zhou & Q. ji - 2006.
-A new gigantic sauropod dinosaur with the deepest known body cavity
from the Cretaceous of Asia, J. Lu, L. Xu, X. Zhang, W.
Hu, Y. Wu, S. Jia & Q. Ji - 2007.