Euhelopus
Live reconstruction of Euhelopus zdanskyi
- Meng- Yin Formation, Shandong, China
- Euhelopus zdanskyi
Euhelopus ( " good mud - foot" ) was a sauropod dinosaur, which was in the Meng- Yin Formation in the Chinese province of Shandong discovered and described in 1929 by Carl Wiman. He lived in the Cretaceous period before about 130 to 112 million years and could reach a length of about 15 meters. The weight was estimated that more than 15 tons. With regard to the systematics Euhelopus is counted among the Titanosauria. This group is mainly represented by massive built sauropods. So far it is known with Euhelopus zdanskyi only one species of this genus. Especially at the physiques of Euhelopus, the front limbs, which are longer than the rear. Otherwise, its appearance resembles those of other sauropods, it had a long neck and tail, a bulky body, which was supported by four sturdy legs, and a small skull. Euhelopus was herbivorous ( fed on plants ).
Originally, this dinosaur was named by Wiman Helopus. However, a bird already had that name. According to the name Helopus by Alfred Romer in 1956 Euhelopus changed. There is also a plant that is designated Helopus, but that's only possible because plants and birds in two different realms are.
So far, no complete skeleton of Euhelopus could be salvaged. It has been largely discovered fragments of cervical vertebrae and the spine, and a toothless skull. These fossil finds are now in the paleontological museum of the University of Uppsala, Sweden.