Page 68 - DINOSOUR ATLAS

AsiA DAshAnpu
Dashanpu , shunosAurus

H
C
I
A
N
This slow-moving plant-eater had a bulky
body with a long neck and tail. Unlike other
In the mIddle jurassIc, 165 million years ago, central China was a lowland S I C H U A N neck was sauropods, Shunosaurus was armed with a
river plain. The region was prone to flooding, and many dinosaurs Chengdu Sichuan Pendi long and bony tail club that had two spikes.
This would have been an effective
drowned in the rising waters. Their bodies were washed downriver, Chang Jiang flexible weapon against a predator.
where they collected at river bends before slowly sinking in Dashanpu Formation (Yangtze)
tangled groups into muddy sediments. Over time, the rivers INDIA
disappeared, leaving deposits behind that set into the Forelegs were
sandstones and mudstones of Sichuan Province. In 1972, at MYANMAR relatively short Bony cluB
Dashanpu, an enormous bone bed of dinosaur fossils was u shunosAurus skeLeton for self-defense
discovered. More than 8,000 bones have been excavated, u site LocAtion In this exhibit, a Shunosaurus skeleton has been
revealing sauropods such as the incredibly long-necked The Dashanpu Dinosaur Quarry is in central Sichuan mounted as if it is reaching up to strip leaves from
Mamenchisaurus, the small ankylosaur Huayangosaurus, Province, southwest China. Part of the site now trees. It had a precision bite, and as its jaws closed
and the carnivore Gasosaurus. houses the Zigong Dinosaur Museum, which its teeth rubbed against each other.
displays China’s best collection of dinosaur fossils.

GAsosAurus .
Until more material is found of Gasosaurus, it remains a
mysterious dinosaur. Only parts of a single animal are
known—an arm, a pelvis, and a leg. Paleontologists
have suggested that it may have been a carnivore.

sichuAn toDAY u
The eastern part of Sichuan Province is fringed
by mountains and has a warm, humid climate.
The western part is a misty and cool highland
zone. The Yangtze River, China’s longest
waterway, flows through Sichuan.

Tail spikes
were for neck was about
self-defense 50 ft (15 m) long in
an adult, and would
not have been held
much higher than
the shoulder

, MAMenchisAurus
A plant-eater, Mamenchisaurus had
small the longest neck of any dinosaur.
armor plaTes Despite its size, the neck was
along each flank
lightweight because it was built
did you know? from hollow vertebrae which, in
places, were eggshell thin. These
were important weight-saving
. Some recently named dinosaurs have been
given unusual names that have nothing to do u huAYAnGosAurus features. The 19 bones that made
with their appearance or lifestyle. Gasosaurus is This early stegosaur had thick bony plates running up this sauropod’s neck were
one of them. It was described in 1985, and in down the length of its back, and spikes grew at the linked by bony struts, making it
honor of the Chinese gas-mining company that stiff and not very flexible.
discovered the fossil quarry at Dashanpu, end of its tail. It had front teeth, and its long forelegs
it was named “gas lizard.” were also unusual—later stegosaurs had short front
limbs and longer back legs.

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