Dinosaurs A to Z
Cetiosauridae

Chebsaurus algeriensis

Generic sauropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Chebsaurus 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic sauropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Chebsaurus
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Middle Jurassic (165–163 Mya)
Place
Algeria
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Cetiosauridae

Chebsaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, specifically a eusauropod. It lived in present-day Algeria, in the Callovian aged Aïssa Formation. The type species, C. algeriensis, was named in 2005 by Mahammed et al. and is the most complete Algerian sauropod known. It was around 8 to 9 long.

The word cheb (شاب) is colloquial Arabic for “young man”, as the fossils found were believed to be from a juvenile. The original publication by Mahammed et al., gave Chebsaurus the nickname “the Giant of Ksour”. A second skeleton, also from a juvenile of a similar ontogenetic stage, is also known.

What we know

  • Named by Mahemmed et al., 2005.
  • Fossils found in Algeria.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Chebsaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.