Open Paleo

Shantungosaurus

Hu, 1973 SHAHN-DUNG-o-SAWR-us

Named after Shandong (historically romanized as Shantung) Province in China, where fossils were found, combined with Greek 'sauros' (lizard), meaning 'Shandong lizard'.

83.6–72.2 million years ago Campanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Shantungosaurus is an extinct genus of very large herbivorous saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group of the Shandong Peninsula in China, containing a single species, Shantungosaurus giganteus. The stratigraphic interval of Shantungosaurus ranges from the top of the Xingezhuang Formation to the middle of the Hongtuya Formation, middle to late Campanian in age. Shantungosaurus is so far the largest hadrosauroid taxon in the world, with size estimates around 15-17 meters (49-56 ft) in length and 13-16 metric tons (14-18 short tons) in body mass.

Diagnosis

  1. Maxilla with 62 or more tooth positions
  2. Dentary with 60 or more alveoli
  3. Paired exoccipitals with a strongly posterodorsally expanded central shelf, 2.5 to 3.0 times as tall as the foramen magnum
  4. Gigantic size, significantly larger than Edmontosaurus regalis

Species

Shantungosaurus giganteus Hu, 1973

Type species

From Latin 'giganteus' meaning 'gigantic', a reference to this dinosaur being one of the largest known hadrosauroids.

Holotype
GMV 1780-1 , National Geological Museum of China
Material
Partial, articulated posterior portion of a skull, including most of the braincase and some neighboring dermal bones of the skull roof (paired postorbitals and squamosals)
Horizon
lower Hongtuya Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
Longgujian, Shandong, China

Synonyms

  • Zhuchengosaurus junior subjective

    Zhuchengosaurus maximus Zhao and colleagues, 2007. Xing and colleagues (2014) treat the differences between it, Huaxiaosaurus and S. giganteus as intraspecific variation or distortion.

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Huaxiaosaurus junior subjective Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens Zhao and colleagues, 2011. Xing and colleagues (2014) treat the differences given for it, in the sacral count and sulcus, the supratemporal fenestra and femur length, as intraspecific variation or distortion.

References

  1. Hu, C. C. (1973). [A new hadrosaur from the Cretaceous of Chucheng, Shantung]. Acta Geologica Sinica 1973(2): 179-206. hu1973a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026a
  3. Xing, H.; Zhao, X.; Wang, K.; Li, D.; Chen, S.; Mallon, J. C.; Zhang, Y.; Xu, X. (2014). Comparative osteology and phylogenetic relationship of Edmontosaurus and Shantungosaurus (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of North America and East Asia. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 88(6): 1623-1652. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12334

    Source of the amended diagnosis and the synonymies; restricts the holotype GMV 1780-1 to the posterior skull.

    xing2014b
  4. Hu, C. Z.; Cheng, Z. W.; Pang, Q. Q.; Fang, X. S. (2001). Shantungosaurus giganteus. 1-116. Geological Publishing House, Beijing.

    Redescribes the type material bone by bone and numbers the holotype and paratype; its diagnosis restates Hu (1973).

    hu2001a
  5. Zhao, X. J.; Li, D. J.; Han, G.; Zhao, H. X.; Liu, F. G.; Li, L. J.; Fang, X. S. (2007). Zhuchengosaurus maximus from Shandong Province. Acta Geoscientica Sinica 28(2): 111-122.

    In Chinese with an English abstract.

    zhao2007a
  6. Zhao, X. J.; Wang, K. B.; Li, D. J. (2011). Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens. Geological Bulletin of China 30(11): 1671-1688.

    In Chinese with an English abstract.

    zhao2011a