Name:
Tanius ("of Tan"); pronounced TAN-ee-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of eastern Asia
Historical Period:
Late Cretaceous (80-65 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 30 feet long and 2-3 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Long, stiff tail; longer hind than front legs
About Tanius:
Represented by a single, headless fossil discovered in China in 1923 (by the paleontologist H.C. Tan, hence its name), Tanius was very similar to its fellow Asian duck-billed dinosaur Tsintaosaurus, and may yet wind up being assigned as a specimen (or species) of that genus. To judge by its surviving bones, Tanius was a typical hadrosaur of the late Cretaceous period, a long, low-slung plant eater that may have been capable of running on its two hind legs when threatened. Since its skull is lacking, we don't know if Tanius possessed the ornate head crest sported by Tsintaosaurus.
