Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus
"Nanxiong"
- Length
- 5 m (16.4 ft)
- Period
- Late Cretaceous (67–66 Mya)
- Place
- Asia · China
- Food
- Herbivore
- Clade
- Therizinosauridae Dinosauria Saurischia Theropoda Coelurosauria Pot-bellied theropods with giant claws — secondarily plant-eating.
Nanshiungosaurus (meaning “Nanxiong’s lizard”) is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in what is now Asia during the Late Cretaceous of South China. The type species, Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus, was first discovered in 1974 and described in 1979 by Dong Zhiming. It is represented by a single specimen preserving most of the cervical and dorsal vertebrae with the pelvis. A supposed and unlikely second species, “Nanshiungosaurus” bohlini, was found in 1992 and described in 1997. It is also represented by vertebrae but this species however, differs in geological age and lacks authentic characteristics compared to the type, making its affinity to the genus unsupported.
It was a large-sized therizinosaurid that is estimated to have cover nearly 5 m in length and to have weighed about 600 – 907 kg.
What we know
- Named by Dong, 1979.
- Body length estimated at about 5 m.
- Fossils found in Asia and China.
What we guess
The reconstruction notes for Nanshiungosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.