Dinosaurs A to Z
Euhelopodidae

Xianshanosaurus

Generic sauropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Xianshanosaurus 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 Xianshanosaurus
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Early Cretaceous (145–100 Mya)
Place
China
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Euhelopodidae

Xianshanosaurus () is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) of the Ruyang Basin in Henan Province, China. Its type and only species is Xianshanosaurus shijiagouensis. It was described in 2009 by a team of paleontologists led by Lü Junchang. Xianshanosaurus may be a titanosaur, and Daxiatitan may be its closest relative, but its evolutionary relationships remain controversial.

What we know

  • Named by Lü et al., 2009.
  • Fossils found in China.

What we guess

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