Janenschia robusta - Jurassic Dinosaurs
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(yah-nen-she-uh)
"Janensch lizard"
Describer Fraas, 1908
Also Known As --
Type of Species
Order Saurischia
SubOrder Sauropodomorpha
InfraOrder Sauropoda
Micro-Order --
Family ?Titanosauria
Size 60 feet (18.3 meters) long
Period Late Jurassic, 156 million years ago
Fossilsite Tanzania
Diet Herbivore
Janenschia
lived during the Late Jurassic Period, about 156 million years ago in
what is now Tanzania. Janenschia is presumed to be the earliest known
titanosaurid, this massive quadruped may have streched
as long as 130 feet in length from its snout to the end of its tail. But
this may be speculation, so little is know about Janenschia, it is difficult
to describe what kind of lifestyle it may have led. The reason for this
difficulty is because only some parts of Janenschia have ever been found.
Its head was missing as were other important bones. Because of the lack of evidence, now some paleontologists believe that Janenschia belongs to the camarosaura group of dinosaurs, and not the titanosaur after all. Despite the lack of evidence, it is clear that it was a giant herbivore that walked on four pillar like legs. This dinosaur would have required to eat large quantities of vegetation as other giant herbivores, such as Brachiosaurus did. Given its great size and its long neck, Janenschia may have eaten leaves from the top of trees. Because only one Janenschia specimen has been found so far, noone can say it lived in heards or on its own. Further work is needed to provide answers to the many questions about this jurassic giant.
Discovery
Janenschia was discovered in Tanzania, east Africa, and was named in 1991
by German paleontologist Rupert Wild. This dinosaur was named in honor
of a fellow German, Warner Janensch, who worked in the same part of Africa
some eighty years earlier, and had uncovered several Brachiosaurus fossils.