Name:
Zhuchengosaurus (Greek for "Zhucheng lizard"); pronounced zhoo-CHENG-oh-SORE-us
Habitat:
Woodlands of Asia
Historical Period:
Early Cretaceous (110-100 million years ago)
Size and Weight:
About 55 feet long and 15 tons
Diet:
Plants
Distinguishing Characteristics:
Enormous size; small front limbs
About Zhuchengosaurus:
The impact of Zhuchengosaurus on the dinosaur record books has yet to be determined. Paleontologists aren't quite certain if this 55-foot-long, 15-ton plant-eater should be classified as a gigantic, Iguanodon-like ornithopod, or as one of the first true hadrosaurs, or duck-billed dinosaurs. If it winds up in the latter category, the early-to-middle Cretaceous Zhuchengosaurus would supplant Shantungosaurus (which roamed Asia over 30 million years later) as the biggest hadrosaur that ever lived! (Addendum: after further study, paleontologists have concluded that Zhuchengosaurus was really a species of Shantungosaurus after all.)
