Dinosaurs A to Z
Mamenchisauridae

Omeisaurus

"Omei lizard"

Generic sauropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Omeisaurus 20 m (66 ft) long
as long as 12 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic sauropod body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Omeisaurus
Length
20 m (66 ft)
Period
Middle Jurassic (168.2–154.8 Mya)
Place
South America · China
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Mamenchisauridae

Omeisaurus (meaning “Omei lizard”) is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle to Late Jurassic Period (Bathonian-Oxfordian stage) of what is now China. Its name comes from Mount Emei, where it was discovered in the lower Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan Province.

Like most sauropods, Omeisaurus was herbivorous and large. The largest species, O. tianfuensis, measured 18 – 20.2 m long, and weighed 8.5 – 9.8 MT. Other species were much smaller, as the type species O. junghsiensis reached a size of 14 m in length and 4 MT in body mass, and O. maoianus reached a size of 15 m and 5 MT.

What we know

  • Named by Young, 1939.
  • Body length estimated at about 20.2 m.
  • Fossils found in South America and China.

What we guess

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