Tornieria

Tornieria was an elongated sauropod that inhabited what is now Tanzania during the Late Jurassic. Unearthed during the famous German expeditions to the fossil-rich Tendaguru Formation, it was initially described as a species of the North American genus Barosaurus. Later anatomical work confirmed it as a distinct diplodocine genus. Measuring roughly twenty-five metres long and weighing about ten to fifteen tonnes, Tornieria was a graceful, slender-necked browser. Its long, low body plan was balanced by a whip-like tail that countered the outstretched neck. It fed predominantly on low-to-mid canopy Jurassic foliage like ferns, conifers, and bennettitaleans. Tornieria provides crucial evidence of the close evolutionary links between the sauropod faunas of eastern Africa and western North America during the Late Jurassic epoch.

Originally assigned to Barosaurus, this African diplodocid demonstrates close faunal ties between Gondwana and North America.

Where and when

Tornieria lived in the Late Jurassic, from 152 to 145 million years ago (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age). Its remains come from Tanzania, in the Tendaguru Formation.

The numbers

Length 25 m (estimates run from 24 to 26 m). Mass about 12 t. Hip height about 3.8 m. That is 14.7 human-lengths, or 2.23 of a double-decker bus. These are estimates from partial skeleton; fields marked estimated by the site are length, mass, hip height.

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