Dinosaurs A to Z
Euhelopodidae

Erketu ellisoni

"Erketü tengri"

Generic sauropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Erketu 15 m (49 ft) long
as long as 9 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic sauropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Erketu
Length
15 m (49 ft)
Period
Late Cretaceous (96–89 Mya)
Place
Asia · Mongolia
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Euhelopodidae

Erketu (meaning “Erketü tengri”) is a genus of somphospondylan dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, roughly between 96 million and 89 million years ago. It is known from the Bayanshiree Formation of Mongolia, and its fossils were found between 2002 and 2003 during field expeditions. Erketu was first described in 2006 and later on in 2010 due to some cervicals that were left behind in the expedition. This genus represents the first sauropod described from the Bayanshiree Formation. The elongated cervical vertebrae indicate that it probably had the longest neck relative to its body size of any sauropod.

What we know

  • Named by Ksepka $ Norell, 2006.
  • Body length estimated at about 15 m.
  • Fossils found in Asia and Mongolia.

What we guess

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