Omeisaurus Characteristics

Omeisaurus measured 30 - 50 feet in length, 12 feet (4 metres) in height and weighed 5 tons. It had a bulky body and a very long neck which contained several more neck vertebrae that were larger than most other sauropods. Unlike other sauropods, its nostrils were located close to the end of its snout. Omeisaurus had 4 thick legs, a long tail and a very small head. The back of the Omeisaurus was higher at the hips than at the shoulders. The closest relative of Omeisaurus appears to have been the even longer-necked sauropod Mamenchisaurus, which had 19 neck vertebrae compared to the 17 of Omeisaurus.

Omeisaurus was a herbivore and must have eaten huge amounts of plant materal to sustain itself.

Omeisaurus was a herd dinosaur and abundant during the late jurassic. Large groups of Omeisaurus roamed the Woodlands of China at this time alongside such late Jurassic stegosaurids as Tuojiangosaurus and Chungkingosaurus.

Omeisaurus was first described in 1939. It was named after the sacred mountain Omeshian, which is were the first fossil example of Omeisaurus was found. Partial fossils including a head have been found in Mount Emei, China.