Ruyangosaurus
Name:
Ruyangosaurus
(Ruyang lizard).
Phonetic: Rroo-yang-go-sore-us).
Named By: Lu J, Xu L, Jia S, Zhang X, Zhang
J, Yang L, You H, Ji Q - 2009.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda.
Species: R. giganteus
(type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Uncertain due to incomplete remains, but
roughly estimated to be around 30 meters long.
Known locations: China, Henan Province -
Manchuan Formation.
Time period: Cenomanian to Turonian of the
Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains including a
tibia, vertebrae and ribs.
Not
many fossilised bones of this dinosaur are known, but those that are
are simply huge. Comparing these bones to the more complete
remains of other genera has resulted in very rough estimates of around
thirty meters long, raising the probability that Ruyangosaurus
was
one of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth. The only way that
a more accurate figure for Ruyangosaurus could ever
be established is
if a single the missing parts are found, and unfortunately this is
not likely. The bigger an animal is, the longer it takes for it to
become buried so that the remains are protected from scavengers and
the elements so that the bones can fossilise. This is why
sauropod
dinosaurs are usually found piecemeal, though several partial
individuals of a genus can be just as good if not better than a single
individual as this would enable the establishment of an average size
for a species and not just one individual.
It
seems that Ruyangosaurus is not the only large
sauropod from the early
Cretaceous of China, with Huanghetitan
and Daxiatitan
both also
hinted at being some of the largest known sauropods.
Further reading
- A new gigantic sauropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Ruyang,
Henan, China, Lu J, Xu L, Jia S, Zhang X, Zhang J, Yang
L, You H, Ji Q - 2009.
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