Dinosaurs A to Z
Mamenchisauridae

Zigongosaurus

"Zigong lizard"

Generic sauropod body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Zigongosaurus 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 Zigongosaurus
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Middle Jurassic (174–163 Mya)
Place
China
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Mamenchisauridae

Zigongosaurus (meaning “Zigong lizard”) is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle-Late Jurassic-aged Shaximiao Formation of Zigong, Sichuan, China. Because of incomplete knowledge of Jurassic Chinese sauropods, it has been hard to interpret, with some sources assigning it to Omeisaurus, some to Mamenchisaurus, and some to its own genus.

What we know

  • Named by Hou, Zhou, & Chao, 1976.
  • Fossils found in China.

What we guess

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