Shantungosaurus
Shantungosaurus was a huge hadrosaur found in the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Formation of the Shandong Peninsula in China. It was the largest known hadrosaur.
| Shantungosaurus | |
|---|---|
| File:Laika ac Dino Kingdom 2012 (7882291466).jpg | |
| Restored skeletons | |
| Scientific classification e | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Order: | Ornithischia |
| Family: | Hadrosauridae |
| Subfamily: | Saurolophinae |
| Tribe: | Edmontosaurini |
| Genus: | Shantungosaurus |
| Species: | S. giganteus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Shantungosaurus giganteus | |
The skeleton of a medium-sized individual mounted at the Geological Institute of China in Beijing is 14.72 metres (48.3 ft) in length,[1] and the type skull is 1.63 metres (5.3 ft) long.[2] The weight of this genus is estimated at up to 16 tonnes (18 short tons).[3] With a composite mounted skeleton 17 meters long (55.7 ft) it is the largest known ornithischian and the largest non-sauropod dinosaur.[4]
It had an unusually long tail, presumably to counterbalance the great weight of the body at the animal's hips.[5]
Like all hadrosaurs its beak was toothless, but its jaws were packed with around 1,500 tiny chewing teeth. A large hole near its nostrils may have been covered by a loose flap, which could be inflated to make sounds.
First described in 1973, Shantungosaurus is known from five incomplete skeletons.
Shantungosaurus Media
- Shantungosaurus giganteus.png
Life reconstruction of Shantungosaurus giganteus
Size comparison of several large ornithopods, Shantungosaurus in red
- Giant Shandong Dinosaur fossil, at the Geological Museum of China.jpg
Sacrum once classified as Huaxiaosaurus
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References
- ↑ Glut, Donald F. (1997). "Shantungosaurus". Dinosaurs: the encyclopedia. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Co. pp. 816–817. ISBN 0-89950-917-7.
- ↑ Hu Chengzhi; et al. (2001). Shantungosaurus giganteus (in Chinese). Beijing: Geological Publishing House. pp. 123–135 [English abstract]. ISBN 7-116-03472-2.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link) - ↑ The dinosauria. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. 2004. ISBN 978-0-520-94143-4. OCLC 801843269.
- ↑ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Identifiers at line 630: attempt to index field 'known_free_doi_registrants_t' (a nil value).
- ↑ Palmer D., ed. (1999). The Marshall illustrated encyclopedia of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 148. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.