Klamelisaurus

Klamelisaurus is a mid-sized sauropod unearthed in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang, China. Named in 1993 after the Kelameili Mountains where its partial postcranial skeleton was discovered, it lived during the Late Jurassic epoch. Estimated to have stretched fifteen to seventeen metres in length and weighed roughly fourteen tonnes, Klamelisaurus possessed robust limbs and an elongated cervical column typical of Asian sauropods from this time. Although originally considered distinct, several researchers have raised the intriguing possibility that Klamelisaurus represents the adult developmental stage of Bellusaurus sui, whose fossils are only known from immature individuals discovered in the same geologic rock formation.

Some palaeontologists suspect Klamelisaurus might represent the fully grown adult form of Bellusaurus.

Where and when

Klamelisaurus lived in the Middle Jurassic, from 163.5 to 157.3 million years ago (Oxfordian age). Its remains come from China, in the Shishugou Formation.

The numbers

Length 16 m (estimates run from 15 to 17 m). Mass about 14 t. Hip height about 3.6 m. That is 9.4 human-lengths, or 1.43 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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