Shantungosaurus

Taxobox
name = "Shantungosaurus"
fossil_range = Late Cretaceous

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image_width = 230px
image_caption = "Shantungosaurus"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Ornithischia
familia = Hadrosauridae
subfamilia = Hadrosaurinae
genus = "Shantungosaurus"
genus_authority = Hu, 1973
subdivision_ranks=Species
subdivision=
* "S giganteus" Hu, 1973 (type)

"Shantungosaurus", meaning "Shandong Lizard", is a genus of flat headed hadrosaurid dinosaurs found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Formation of the Shandong Peninsula in China. It is one of the longest and largest known hadrosaurids; the composite skeleton of a medium-sized individual mounted at the Geological Institute of China in Beijing measures 14.72 meters (49 ft) in length,cite book|chapter=Shantungosaurus |last=Glut |first=Donald F. |authorlink=Donald F. Glut |title=Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia |year=1997 |publisher=McFarland & Co |location=Jefferson, North Carolina |pages=816-817 |isbn=0-89950-917-7 ] and the type skull is 1.63 meters (5.35 ft) long.cite book |author=Hu Chengzhi |coauthors=Cheng Zhengwu; Pang Qiping; and Fang Xiaosi |year=2001 |title=Shantungosaurus giganteus |pages=123-135 [English abstract] |location=Beijing |publisher=Geological Publishing House |language=Chinese |isbn=7-116-03472-2 ] The weight of this genus is estimated at up to 16.0 tonnes (17.6 tons).cite book |last=Horner |first=John R. |authorlink=Jack Horner (paleontologist) |coauthors=Weishampel, David B.; and Forster, Catherine A |editor=Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.)|title=The Dinosauria |edition=2nd |year= 2004|publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |isbn=0-520-24209-2 |pages=438-463 |chapter=Hadrosauridae ] Like all hadrosaurs its beak was toothless, but its jaws were packed with around 1,500 tiny chewing teeth. A large hole near its nostrils may have been covered by a loose flap, which could be inflated to make sounds.

Discovery and species

.Discovered in 1964, "Shantungosaurus" is known from five incomplete skeletons. Based on the material known to date, it is very similar to, and shares many characteristics with "Edmontosaurus".

References

*
* 157.

External links

* [http://www.dinodata.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7456&Itemid=67 "Shantungosaurus" at DinoData]