Shantungosaurus

Shantungosaurus was a colossally large duck-billed dinosaur from Late Cretaceous China. Measuring up to sixteen metres from snout to tail tip and tipping the scales at over thirteen tonnes, it is the largest known ornithischian dinosaur, rivaling medium-sized sauropods in total bulk. Known from extensive fossil material including several articulated skeletons found in Shandong Province, Shantungosaurus had an extraordinarily long skull reaching over one and a half metres in length. Its jaw apparatus contained hundreds of tightly packed interlocking teeth capable of processing immense quantities of coarse plant matter. The species lacked an elaborate cranial crest, possessing instead a flat head with large, cavernous nasal cavities that likely supported sensory or display structures. Its massive columnar legs reflect an animal that spent most of its adult life foraging as a heavy quadruped.

It is widely recognised as the largest non-sauropod ornithischian dinosaur discovered so far.

Where and when

Shantungosaurus lived in the Late Cretaceous, from 73 to 68 million years ago (Campanian-Maastrichtian age). Its remains come from China, in the Wangshi Group.

The numbers

Length 15 m (estimates run from 14 to 17 m). Mass about 15 t. Hip height about 4.5 m. That is 9 human-lengths, or 1.37 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from near-complete skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, first ma, last ma, hip height.

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