Tonganosaurus is an ancient dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic period, around 184.5 million years ago.
It was found in the Yimen Formation, which is located in Sichuan, China.
The name “Tonganosaurus” comes from the town of Tong’an, where its fossils were discovered.
This dinosaur belongs to a group of large, long-necked dinosaurs called sauropods and is closely related to another dinosaur named Omeisaurus.
The first fossils of Tonganosaurus were identified in 2010 by a team of scientists, and the type species is named Tonganosaurus hei.
Tonganosaurus is known from a few bones, including vertebrae (the small bones that make up the spine), a front limb, and a complete hind limb.
Its skeletal structure suggests it was around 11.6 meters long, which is about 38 feet. When it was alive, it might have grown slightly larger, up to 12 meters or 39 feet.
The finding of Tonganosaurus was quite special because it is considered the oldest member of its family, the Mamenchisauridae.
It was discovered in a search led by the Chengdu University of Technology Museum in 2007, where volunteers helped find the fossils.
Multiple bones were found together, indicating they belonged to the same dinosaur.
The area where the fossils were found also contained tracks from other dinosaurs and remains of various ancient sea creatures, showing that Tonganosaurus lived in an environment with lakes and shallow waters.
In summary, Tonganosaurus gives us important clues about early sauropods and the kinds of environments they lived in millions of years ago.