Dongbeititan
- Length
- 15 m (49 ft)
- Period
- Early Cretaceous (125.46 Mya)
- Place
- China
- Food
- Herbivore
- Clade
- Dinosauria The clade containing all dinosaurs, terrestrial archosaurs with upright limbs.
Dongbeititan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao, Liaoning, China. It is based on holotype DNHM D2867, a partial postcranial skeleton including bones from the limbs, shoulder and pelvic girdles, and vertebrae, which was described in 2007. Its describers suggested it was as a basal titanosauriform, not as derived as Gobititan or Jiutaisaurus, but more derived than Euhelopus, Fusuisaurus, and Huanghetitan. The type species is D. dongi, and it is the first named sauropod from the Yixian Formation, which is part of the well-known Jehol Group. The genus name refers to the region Dongbei and to Greek titan, “giant”. The specific name honours the Chinese paleontologist Dong Zhiming. Like other sauropods, Dongbeititan would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore.
What we know
- Named by Wang et al., 2007.
- Body length estimated at about 15 m.
- Fossils found in China.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Dongbeititan — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.