Omeisaurus

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Omeisaurus
Fossil range: Middle Jurassic

Extinct (fossil)

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Sauropsida
Superorder:	Dinosauria
Order:	Saurischia
Suborder:	Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder:	Sauropoda
Family:	Euhelopodidae
Genus:	Omeisaurus

Species

O. junghsiensis Yang Zhongjian (Chung Chien Young), 1939 (type species)
O. changskouensis Yang Zhongjian (Chung Chien Young), 1958
O. fuxiensis and Dong, Zhou and Zhang, 1983
O. luoquanensis He, Li and Cai, 1988
O. maoianus Tang, Jin, Kang, and Zhang, 2001
O. tianfuensis He, Li, Cai and Gao, 1984

Omeisaurus ("Omei lizard") was a sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period of what is now China. Its name comes from Mount Emei, where it was discovered.

Like other sauropods, Omeisaurus was herbivorous and large. It measured 10 to 15 meters (30 to 45 feet long and 4 meters (12 feet) high and weighed 4 tons. It had the typical bulky body and long neck of other dinosaurs in its suborder. Unlike many sauropods, however, its nostrils were located close to the end of its nose. The back of the Omeisaurus was higher at its hips than at its shoulders.

1 Classification
2 In popular culture
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Classification

It was once classified as a member of the Cetiosauridae family, due to a club tail fossil discovered in the same bone bed as the Omeisaurus fossils. The club tail is now believed to belong to a large Shunosaurus. The species O. fuxiensis is sometimes confused with Zigongosaurus, but the two are based on different material despite having the same species name.

[edit] In popular culture

Mounted skeletons of Omeisaurus are on display at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Zigong, Sichuan Province and at Beipei Museum, near Chongqing, both in China.