Genus
Valid Extinct

Isanosaurus

Buffetaut et al. 2000

Isanosaurus is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic in Thailand. Isanosaurus was originally thought to have lived during the Late Triassic, which would make it one of the oldest known sauropods, but other authors questioned this age estimate, suggesting that the genus lived during the Jurassic period. In 2026, U-Pb zircon dating confidently supported that the rock layers bearing the fossils of Isanosaurus were deposited during the Sinemurian-Pliensbachian stage of the Early Jurassic. The genus contains a single species, Isanosaurus attavipachi. Its exact relationships to other early sauropods remain unresolved due to the fragmentary known remains.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
1
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Isanosaurus
click to enlarge
fossil of Isanosaurus attavipachi, an extinct sauropod © Ghedoghedo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
›
Saurischia Unranked clade
›
Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
›
Massopoda Unranked clade
›
Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
›
Sauropoda Unranked clade
›
Isanosaurus Genus
Measurements
Length
8,3 m ⓘ
Isanosaurus attavipachi
Mass
1 300 kg ⓘ
Isanosaurus attavipachi
Fossil sites 1 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇹🇭 Thailand
1
Geological formations
Nam Phong
1
Temporal distribution
Toarcian (184.2–174.7 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Isanosaurus attavipachi 193 Ma
Images 1
Bibliography
Original description
E. Buffetaut, V. Suteethorn, and G. Cuny, H. Tong, J. Le Loeuff, S. Khansubha, S. Jongautchariyakul. 2000. The earliest known sauropod dinosaur. Nature 407:72-74 DOI ↗
Bibliography (1)
E. Buffetaut, V. Suteethorn, and G. Cuny, H. Tong, J. Le Loeuff, S. Khansubha, S. Jongautchariyakul. 2000. The earliest known sauropod dinosaur. Nature 407:72-74 DOI ↗