Open Paleo

Sanpasaurus

Young, 1944 sahn-PAH-SAWR-us

Named for Sanpa (Shanba), the locality in Sichuan, China, where the fossils were found, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'; meaning 'Sanpa lizard.'

192.9–174.7 million years ago Pliensbachian–Toarcian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Sanpasaurus is a poorly known sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of Sichuan, China. The type species, S. yaoi, was described by Chung Chien Young, in 1944. The type remains, IVPP V.156, consists of 20 vertebrae, scapulae, forelimbs, and some hindlimb bones.

Diagnosis

  1. Vertebrae massive with sacrum apparently not fused
  2. Anterior limbs comparatively long
  3. Scapula distal end rather thin
  4. Ulna and radius long and slender, only slightly longer than one another
  5. Ulna and radius facets of humerus not well differentiated
  6. End phalanx curved and depressed

Species

Sanpasaurus yaoi Young, 1944

Type species

Named in honor of Mr. Y. Yao, who collected the fossils.

Holotype
IVPP V156 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
Material
Partly articulated skeleton of more than 20 isolated vertebrae, both scapulae, both fore limbs, posterior limb fragments.
Horizon
Maanshan Member, Ziliujing Formation, Pliensbachian–Toarcian, Early Jurassic , 192.9–174.7 million years ago
Locality
Changshanling, Potzewan, Sichuan, China

References

  1. McPhee, B. W.; Upchurch, P.; Mannion, P. D.; Sullivan, C.; Butler, R. J.; Barrett, P. M. (2016). A revision of Sanpasaurus yaoi Young, 1944 from the Early Jurassic of China, and its relevance to the early evolution of Sauropoda (Dinosauria). PeerJ 4: e2578. PeerJ. doi:10.7717/peerj.2578

    Revises the species, whose material Young collected from quarries in the Maanshan Member of the Ziliujing Formation.

    mcphee2016a
  2. Young, C. C. (1944). On the Reptilian Remains from Weiyuan, Szechuan, China. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 24(3-4): 187-209. Wiley. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.1944.mp243-4005.x young1944a
  3. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.

    jones2026b
  4. Yao, X.; Zhao, Q.; Ren, T.; Wei, G.; Xu, X. (2025). New evidence for the earliest ornithischian dinosaurs from Asia. iScience 28(1). Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2024.111641

    Dates the Dongyuemiao Member below the Maanshan to the late Sinemurian to early Pliensbachian and the Da'anzhai above it to the Toarcian.

    yao2025a