Bellusaurus was a plant-eating Sauropod that belonged to the family Mamenchisauridae. The first fossil remains were recovered In China.
Key Facts
| Domain | Description |
|---|---|
| Bellusaurus pronunciation | Bel-luh-sore-us |
| What does Bellusaurus mean? | In Latin ‘Bellus’ means ‘beautiful’ and the Ancient Greek ‘sauros’ means ‘lizard’ |
| Dinosaur type | Sauropod |
| On the menu | Herbivore |
| Length | 16′ (4.9 meters) |
| Height | 5′ (1.5 meters) |
| Weight | 1000 lbs (454 kg) |
| Life expectancy | Unknown |
| Legs used to get around | Quadrupedal |
| Estimated top speed | Unknown |
| When they lived | 163.5 to 157.3 million years ago |
| Where they have been found? | Junggar Basin, China |
When & Where
They lived during the prehistoric era of the Middle Jurassic period, approximately 163.5 million to 157.3 million years ago.
The first discovery was in China where 17 juvenile Bellusaurus’ partial remains were discovered. The remains had some features like a lack of fusion in some areas which implies that it could be from juvenile Bellusaurus and were not fully grown.
Size & Weight
The size of Bellusaurus measures about 16’ long and 5’ in height, while its weight was approximately 1000 lbs.
Mobility & Diet
Bellusaurus fed on Conifers. It also included Cycads, Gingkos, seed ferns, club mosses and horsetails in its diet.
Interesting Points
- Through the years, no complete skeleton has been found
- There were about 17 Bellusaurus found in a solitary quarry suggesting that they were all killed at the same time, possibly by a flash flood.
Featured Image Credit: Debivort, CC BY-SA 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/, via Wikimedia Commons
