Lufengosaurus

Lufengosaurus was a large massospondylid sauropodomorph that lived during the Early Jurassic in Yunnan, south-western China. Described by pioneering palaeontologist Young Chung-Chien, it was the first dinosaur skeleton ever assembled and mounted for public exhibition in China. Growing six to nine metres in length and weighing around two tonnes, Lufengosaurus had an elongated neck, a small head, and a hefty tail. While it could browse high in the trees while standing upright on its hindlimbs, it may also have rested or walked quadrupedally. Its jaws were lined with sharp, serrated teeth adapted for stripping fibrous vegetation. In 2017, researchers reported finding preserved collagen protein fragments inside the ribs of a Lufengosaurus, offering rare insights into dinosaur soft-tissue preservation.

It was the first complete dinosaur skeleton mounted and displayed in China, featured on a 1958 commemorative postage stamp.

Where and when

Lufengosaurus lived in the Early Jurassic, from 201 to 185 million years ago (Hettangian-Sinemurian age). Its remains come from China, in the Lufeng Formation.

The numbers

Length 7.5 m (estimates run from 6 to 9 m). Mass about 1.9 t. Hip height about 1.8 m. That is 4.4 human-lengths, or 0.67 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

Compare Lufengosaurus with a bus Place on the timeline