Cetiosaur

"whale lizard"

LATE JURASSIC  to  EARLY CRETACEOUS PERIOD:  157 - 112 million years ago

The Cetiosaur was the first sauropod to ever be discovered in the world.  In 1841, huge bones were found in southern England, 32 years before anyone had ever heard of "dinosaurs".  People thought the bones belonged to some great marine animal, hence the name "Cetiosaurus", or "whale-lizard".  Later, a similar sauropod was found in the Late Jurassic rock of Colorado in western North America.  It was then that scientists began to appreciate the magnitude of this massive beast.  In 1979, a skeleton of a Cetiosaur was unearthed in Morocco.  The animal's thigh bone measured over 6 ft/1.8 m long and one of the shoulder blades measured over 5 ft/1.5 m long.

Cetiosaur was enormous.  It's neck and tail were shorter than many other sauropods.  It's weight is estimated at well over 10 tons.  From tail to head, this monster grew up to 60 ft/18.3 m long.  Cetiosaur was an herbivore, or plant-eater.  

The teeth of the Cetiosaur were long and rod-shaped designed for raking and stripping leaves and foliage from tree branches.  The Cetiosaur did not chew it's food, instead it swallowed it whole.  Once inside the huge stomach, gastroliths (stones swallowed by the dinosaur that remained in the stomach) would grind up the plants into a digestible form.

A possible relative sauropod Jobaria, was recently discovered in 1997 in the Sahara Desert in Niger.  One specimen was an amazing 95 percent complete making it one of the most complete sauropods ever found.  Studies of the skeletal structure have led some scientists to theorize that these giant dinosaurs could stand on their hind legs despite their weight and size, and reach tall treetops for food where no other herbivore could reach.  With such enormous size, Cetiosaur must have spent the majority of it's life feeding it's never-ending appetite.

Cetiosaur remains have been found in England and Morocco.

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