Bellusaurus
Bellusaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, 170 Ma | |
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Restored skeleton | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Order: | Saurischia |
Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | †Neosauropoda |
Clade: | †Macronaria |
Genus: | †Bellusaurus Dong, 1990 |
Species: | †B. sui |
Binomial name | |
Bellusaurus sui Dong, 1990 | |
Bellusaurus (meaning "Beautiful lizard", from Vulgar Latin bellus 'beautiful' (masculine form) and Ancient Greek sauros 'lizard') was a small short-necked sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic which measured about 4.8 metres (16 ft) long. Its fossils were found in Shishugou Formation rocks in the northeastern Junggar Basin in China.
![](../I/m/Bellusaurus-v1.jpg)
An artist's depiction of Bellusaurus.
Discovery and species
The type (and only known) species is Bellusaurus sui, formally described by Dong Zhiming in 1990. Seventeen individuals were found in a single quarry, suggesting that a herd had been killed in a flash flood. Some features suggest they may have all been juveniles.[1]
References
- ↑ Dong, Z. M., 1990, On remains of the Sauropods from Kelamaili region, Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China: Vertebrata PalAsiatica, v. 28, n. 1, p. 43-58.
- Dong Zhiming (1992). Dinosaurian Faunas of China. China Ocean Press, Beijing. ISBN 3-540-52084-8.
External links
- Bellusaurus in the Dino Directory
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