| Name | Shantungosaurus | Diet | Herbivorous |
| Name Meaning | Shandong Lizard | Height | 7 meters (23 feet) |
| Pronunciation | Shan-tung-o-sore-us | Length | 15 meters (49 feet) |
| Era | Mesozoic – Late Cretaceous | Weight | 13-16 metric tons (14-18 short tons) |
| Classification | Dinosauria, Ornithischia & Ornithopoda | Location | China |
Shantungosaurus Pictures
The Shantungosaurus
The Shantungosaurus is a dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in China, and is known for being one of the largest hadrosaurs in the world.
Shantungosaurus when discovered was a group of bones that did not make up a complete skeleton, but further research allowed these discoveries to be better understood.
These dinosaurs were first described in 1973, and were described by Xing Xu and the other Chinese scientist that worked with him.
Known from around 5 specimens of incomplete skeletons, the similar relatives, and knowledge from other Hadrosaurids allowed scientists to learn more about the Shantungosaurus.
This article will take a look at everything that has been discovered about the Shantungosaurus, including how they looked, what they ate, and the environments they lived in.
Even dinosaurs that have very little bones discovered are very important in paleontology, since they give more insight into the earth’s environment millions of years ago.
Physical Characteristics
What made Shantungosaurus unique was its massive size, and it is the largest known ornithischian.
These dinosaurs grew up to 15 meters (49 ft.) in length, and had a height standing up to 7 meters (23 ft).
The estimated weight of Shantungosaurus ranges from 13 to 16 metric tons (14 to 18 short tons).
The skull of this dinosaur was very long and flat, with an estimated size of around 1.63 meters (5.3 ft).
Shantungosaurus has had several estimates of their weight, with their size changing overtime as more fossils are uncovered.
Like other similar dinosaurs the back legs of this species were very robust, with their front legs being slightly smaller.
Their unique body structure allowed many hadrosaurs to stand on two limbs, and when moving quickly they relied on a hopping motion.
It is believed due to their strong back legs and light front legs these dinosaurs could have stood on their back legs, moving bipedally.
Similar to other duck-billed dinosaurs, Shantungosaurus had large beaked mouths.
Shantungosaurus had closely packed teeth, with up to 1,500 of them in their mouth to help them eat.
These dinosaurs also had large holes near their nostrils, and scientists believed a flap could have covered this hole, and it could have inflated to make a sound.
Shantungosaurus also had a very long tail, which helped them keep their balance due to their large size.
Habitat and Distribution
The Shantungosaurus lived in China during the Late Cretaceous period around 74 to 100.5 million years ago.
Shantungosaurus have been discovered in provinces in China like Hebei, Shaanxi, and Jiangsu.
These dinosaurs are only known from around 5 incomplete specimens, so it is not known how common, or widespread they were in prehistoric China.
During the Cretaceous period China was mostly desert, with lots of areas experiencing drought
What is now the Shandong Province in China, where this dinosaur lived, is now considered a sanctuary for dinosaurs during the Cretaceous period.
The habitats that Shantungosaurus inhabited included meadows, woodlands, plains, and mountainous regions.
Shantungosaurus lived in habitats with plants like angiosperms, cycads, gingkos, and conifers.
These dinosaurs were terrestrial, roaming the land, but often would go near water where plants are more abundant.
Compared to the other regions in China that were desert, the region where the Shantungosaurus lived was perfect for large grazing dinosaurs.
Behavior and Diet
The Shantungosaurus was a herbivore that fed on low lying plants they found in their environment.
Duck-billed dinosaurs are known from their very wide mouths, which have a similar shape to the mouth of a duck.
Inside the mouth of this dinosaur they had up to 1,500 teeth, which they used to bite through their food.
Shantungosaurus teeth were placed around their mouth, and were slightly serrated.
Aswell as their many teeth, the mouths of duck-billed dinosaurs also had large cheek pouches which helped them hold onto large amounts of food.
The size of these dinosaurs and how they were designed to eat made it likely that they spent the majority of their day eating, and needed to eat in bulk to survive.
Hadrosaurs ate food that were close to the ground, and used their many teeth to chew up even the toughest of vegetation.
These dinosaurs are believed to be grazers and not browsers, and some specimens of hadrosaurs have been found with contents in their stomachs.
Other hadrosaurs from around the world have shown evidence of eating other things that were not plants like shellfish, and crabs.
Dinosaurs like Shantungosaurus had a diet that likely consisted of mostly plants, but they could have eaten other things to fulfill their dietary needs.
Life Cycle
The Shantungosaurus like other dinosaurs started their life from eggs, and when fully grown they become one of the largest hadrosaurs to walk the earth.
New studies suggest these dinosaurs could have lived in herds, which would have helped their survival rate.
The lifespan of Shantungosaurus, and other hadrosaurs is currently unknown, but some estimates have them capable of living for more than 30 years.
Predators were likely the main cause of these dinosaurs’ life span shortening.
There are many things still unknown about the Shantungosaurus life cycle like how often they bred, their gestational period, and how many eggs they laid.
More fossils discovered of young and older Shantungosaurus are needed to further learn about this ancient giant, as many of the fossils discovered have been incomplete.
Evolution and History
The Shantungosaurus was described in 1973, done so by Xing Xu and his fellow Chinese scientists.
Fossils from these dinosaurs have been discovered across the Shandong region in China, with specimens containing skulls, vertebrae, and limbs allowing paleontologists to better learn about this dinosaur.
There is only one species of Shantungosaurus that is valid today which is Shantungosaurus giganteus.
Shantungosaurus translates to the “Shandong Lizard”, which references the region in China where this lizard lived, and their species name was given due to the massive size they reached.
In the past a few dinosaurs have been named that were once considered a different species of dinosaur, but later were found out to be synonyms of the Shantungosaurus.
The Zhuchengosaurus maximus dinosaur species was named in 2007, but further research showed that this specimen was just a smaller growth stage of the Shantungosaurus.
Another specimen named in 2011 was Huaxiosaurus aigahtens, which also is a synonym.
Shantungosaurus is a very similar dinosaur to the Edmontosaurus, which lived in North America.
The Edmontosaurus has helped better understand the Shantungosaurus, and these two have been placed next to each other in their classification.
Being one of the later living Hadrosaurs, Shantungosaurus evolved to be extremely large, but had similar traits to their relatives.
Interactions with Other Species
The Shantungosaurus, along with other hadrosaurs were very dominant dinosaurs in their environment.
When young or old, this dinosaur would have been very vulnerable to the carnivores they lived with.
Their massive size overall made it very unlikely for dinosaurs to try to prey on this genus.
Shantungosaurus lived in China during the Cretaceous period, and they have been found in formations that allowed for a further in depth study into their environment.
The Wangi Formation in eastern China is where the Shantungosaurus was discovered, and there have also been other dinosaurs found in this region that could have lived with this dinosaur.
Dinosaurs that Shantungosaurus lived with may have included:
- Chingkankousaurus
- Laiyangosaurus
- Sinoceratops
- Tanius
- Tsintaosaurus
- Zhuchengtyrannus
- Zhuchengceratops
- Tarbosaurus
Earlier mammals also lived in this region of China.
The Shantungosaurus was one of the largest animals in their region, and living in herds made them one of the most protected.
Despite not having defenses of other herbivores like horns, hadrosaurs were still very successful.
Carnivorous theropods like the Tarbosaurus would have likely been predators of the Shantungosaurus, but even the most dangerous dinosaur would have trouble taking down such a large creature.
Cultural Significance
The Shantungosaurus lived around 100.5 to 74 million years ago, and are of the most loved dinosaurs today.
Despite the lack of fossils when compared with other popular species, the Shantungosaurus is still a very popular dinosaur due to its massive size.
Shantungosaurus has helped paleontologists learn more about the life that lived in the unique area of Shandong China in the Cretaceous, and how hadrosaurs evolved across various environments.
You can find many similar dinosaurs to the Shantungosaurus, and the fossils of these dinosaurs have helped depict them, since much of the fossils found of Shantungosaurus have been fragments.
The Shantungosaurus has been depicted in games like Jurassic Park, Ark, and other prehistoric video games.
The size of these dinosaurs are why they are so popular, but there is still much to learn about these ancient hadrosaurs.
Conclusion
The Shantungosaurus is one of the many dinosaurs that lived in China during the cretaceous period.
These dinosaurs were amazing because of their size, and they are currently the largest known hadrosaurid to exist.
Due to the little fossils found of these dinosaurs, the Shantungosaurus is mainly known from other more common species of hadrosaurs like the ones discovered in North America.
China experienced a large variety of animals from mammals to giant dinosaurs in the Cretaceous period, and genus like the Shantungosaurus help scientists better understand the environment.
Since described in 1973 there have been lots learned from the studies, and fossil specimens of the Shantungosaurus left behind.
While not the largest of herbivores like sauropods, dinosaurs like Shantungosaurus evolved to use their size as a defense, much like ceratopsians with horns, and Ankylosaurus with spiky tails.
There is still lots to learn about the Shandong Lizard, but these dinosaurs have become a popular representation of the hadrosaurs.
FAQS
Did Shantungosaurus have feathers?
The Shantungosaurus is a hadrosaur, and there have been several fossilized skin impressions of these dinosaurs that showed they had scaly skin, with likely no feathers.
It is believed that dinosaurs had features to keep themselves warm or attract a mate, but it is not believed all dinosaurs had this trait.
Why did Shantungosaurus grow so large?
The massive size of Shantungosaurus is what made this genus stand out from other Hadrosaurs, and being large in size would have made it easier for them to defend themselves from predators.
While lacking defenses like horns or spikes, the size of hadrosaurids are what keep them safe from carnivores, but there were also likely other unknown factors that contributed to the Shantungosaurus massive size like habitat, and changing climate.
When did Shantungosaurus go extinct?
The Shantungosaurus went extinct around 74 million years ago, and died alongside the other non-avian dinosaurs.
The Chicxulub asteroid that hit North America is theorized to be what caused the death of the dinosaurs, but climate change, and volcanic activities could have also contributed to the extinctions of dinosaurs like Shantungosaurus.
Sources:
- https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Hai-Xing/publication/270912185_Comparative_Osteology_and_Phylogenetic_Relationship_of_Edmontosaurus_and_Shantungosaurus_Dinosauria_Hadrosauridae_from_the_Upper_Cretaceous_of_North_America_and_East_Asia/links/5af12922aca272bf42557ce3/Comparative-Osteology-and-Phylogenetic-Relationship-of-Edmontosaurus-and-Shantungosaurus-Dinosauria-Hadrosauridae-from-the-Upper-Cretaceous-of-North-America-and-East-Asia.pdf
- https://archives.datapages.com/data/rmag/mg/1983/lockley.htm
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S019566710300048X
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wangshi_Group
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1755-6724.12334
- https://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/G104/lectures/104ornithop.html
- https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/sepm/palaios/article-abstract/22/5/554/145922/THE-PALEOBIOLOGICAL-IMPLICATIONS-OF-HERBIVOROUS
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