Cetiosaurus was a massive plant-eating (herbivorous) dinosaur that lived in
the Jurassic period
between about 181 and 169 million years ago.
Fossils
of the animal have been found in
England
(it was in fact the first
Sauropod
to be discovered in
England),
and
Morocco.
The animal was named by
Sir Richard Owen
in 1841, the year before he coined the term "dinosauria". Owen choose the
name "Cetiosaurus" which means "whale lizard", because he believed at the time
that the animal was a marine creature, most likely a large crocodilian.
In fact, it was not until 1869 (and then thanks to Thomas Huxley) that Cetiosaurus
was recognized as a dinosaur.
Cetiosaurus was about 59 feet (18 meters) long and weighed in the region of
25 tons. It's neck/head as as long as its body, but the tail was much longer.
It is also unusual in that unlike more advanced
Sauropods
(like Brachiosaurus),
Cetiosaurus does not have hollow bones.
"Cetiosaurus" means "whale lizard". This name was chosen by Sir Richard Owen in 1841, because he originally believed the creature to be a marine creature.
Cetiosaurus was a member of the Saurischia ("lizard-hipped") order of dinosaurs. What this means, is that although Cetiosaurus was not closely related to lizards, it did have similarly shaped pelvic bones.
Cetiosaurus was a Sauropod - a member of a group of related large quadrupedal herbivorous (plant-eating) dinosaur with long necks.
Cetiosaurus lived between about 181 million years ago and 169 million years ago, during the Jurassic period.
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