Abrosaurus is an extinct type of dinosaur that lived during the Middle Jurassic period, about 168 to 161 million years ago.
It was first discovered in China at a famous fossil site called the Dashanpu Quarry, located in Sichuan Province.
This dinosaur belonged to a group known as sauropods, which were large, long-necked dinosaurs. However, Abrosaurus was smaller than many of its relatives, measuring around 30 feet long, which is about 9 meters.
One interesting feature of Abrosaurus is its boxy head, which had a distinct bony arch on top where its nostrils were located. The name Abrosaurus means “delicate lizard,” referring to its light bone structure that was full of openings.
The only species of Abrosaurus is called Abrosaurus dongpoi. This name honors a famous Chinese poet named Su Shi, who lived a long time ago in Sichuan, the same area where the dinosaur was found.
The journey of naming Abrosaurus was quite complex. It was discovered back in 1984 and was first described by a paleontologist named Ouyang Hui in a thesis. However, the initial name used did not follow important naming rules. It took until 1989 for the name to be officially recognized as Abrosaurus dongpoi.
The original fossil of Abrosaurus is a nearly complete skull, which is well-preserved. Other parts of the skeleton have been found but not fully studied or described yet.
Overall, Abrosaurus is an important part of our understanding of dinosaurs during the Middle Jurassic period and helps show the variety among sauropods.