Chinese Dinosaurs - Shunosaurus lii

Home

Chinese Dinosaurs

Chinese dinosaurs
and dragon bones

Feathered dinosaurs

Dinosaurs family tree

Dinosaur Factsheets

Huayangosaurus taibaii

Lufengosaurus huenei

Mamenchisaurus
jingyanensis

Mamenchisaurus youngi

Omeisaurus tianfuensis

Psittacosaurus sinensis

Shunosaurus lii

Tsintaosaurus
spinorhinus

Yangchuanosaurus
huopingensis

Yangchuanosaurus
shangyouensis

Pliosaur

Velociraptor mongoliensis

Caudipteryx zoui

Sinosauropteryx prima

Shunosaurus lii

Pronounced 'shoo-noh-saw-rus lee-eye'

Artist: James Reece

Shunosaurus lii was a slow-moving herbivorous dinosaur which lived around 170 million years ago and probably had a lifespan of over 120 years.

Shunosaurus lii had:

ladle-shaped teeth that helped it to crop the leaves of low-growing plants;
a bony, clubbed tail which it used for defence;
gastroliths (small stones which the dinosaur swallowed) in its stomach to help break up plant tissues.

Shunosaurus lii was discovered in Sichuan, which was known as Shu in ancient times. The species name lii was named after Li Bing, who constructed the Dujiangyan Irrigation System in Sichuan.

Shunosaurus lii was a sauropod belonging to the family Cetiosauridae. This large family occurred worldwide from the Early Jurassic to Late Cretaceous.