Turiasaurus

Turiasaurus is a monumental sauropod recovered from the Late Jurassic rocks of Teruel Province in eastern Spain. Reaching an estimated thirty metres in length and weighing over forty tonnes, it ranks among the largest dinosaurs ever found in Europe. 8 metres tall. Surprisingly, phylogenetic analysis revealed that Turiasaurus was not a titanosaur or brachiosaurid, but rather the type representative of an archaic eusauropod clade known as Turiasauria. Its broad, spoon-to-heart-shaped teeth were suited for cropping a wide range of tough Jurassic plants, from cycads to conifer needles. Its discovery overturned the long-held assumption that truly colossal sauropods were restricted to the Americas and Africa during the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian ages.

It is widely regarded as one of the heaviest and longest dinosaurs ever discovered on the European continent.

Where and when

Turiasaurus lived in the Late Jurassic, from 152 to 145 million years ago (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian age). Its remains come from Spain, in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation.

The numbers

Length 30 m (estimates run from 28 to 31 m). Mass about 41 t. Hip height about 5 m. That is 17.4 human-lengths, or 2.63 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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