Family
Valid Extinct

Cetiosauridae

cetiosaurid
(Lydekker 1888)

Cetiosauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs which was first proposed by Richard Lydekker in 1888. While traditionally a wastebasket taxon containing various unrelated species, some recent studies have found that it may represent a natural clade. Alongside Cetiosaurus from the Middle Jurassic of Britain, other taxa recently assigned to the family include Lapparentosaurus from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar, and Patagosaurus from the late Early-Middle Jurassic of Patagonia, which share autapomorphies with Cetiosaurus that are not shared by other eusauropods. Additionally, at least one study has suggested that the mamenchisaurids may represent a sub-group of the cetiosaurids, which would be termed Mamenchisaurinae.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
15
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Cetiosauridae
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Wikimedia
PBDB ↗ Wikipedia ↗
Classification
Dinosauria Unranked clade
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Saurischia Unranked clade
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Sauropodomorpha Unranked clade
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Massopoda Unranked clade
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Sauropodiformes Unranked clade
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Sauropoda Unranked clade
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Gravisauria Unranked clade
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Eusauropoda Unranked clade
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Cetiosauridae Family
Fossil sites 15 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇨🇳 China
5
🇬🇧 United Kingdom
4
🇦🇷 Argentina
4
🇩🇿 Algeria
1
🇪🇸 Spain
1
Geological formations
Ziliujing
4
Cañadón Asfalto
4
Shaximiao
1
Aïssa
1
Temporal distribution
Berriasian (143.1–137.05 Ma)
1
Tithonian (149.2–143.1 Ma)
1
Callovian (165.3–161.5 Ma)
2
Bathonian (168.2–165.3 Ma)
2
Aalenian (174.7–170.9 Ma)
5
Toarcian (184.2–174.7 Ma)
4
Synonyms (1)
Cardiodontidae objective synonym of Cetiosauridae
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
R. Lydekker. 1888. Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History). Part I. Containing the Orders Ornithosauria, Crocodilia, Dinosauria, Squamata, Rhynchocephalia, and Proterosauria. British Museum (Natural History), London DOI ↗
Bibliography (10)
F. Mahammed, E. Läng, and L. Mami, L. Mekahli, M. Benhamou, B. Bouterfa, A. Kacemi, S. A. Chérief, H. Chaouati, P. Taquet. 2005. The 'Giant of Ksour', a Middle Jurassic sauropod dinosaur from Algeria. Comptes Rendus Palevol (4):707-714 DOI ↗
G. Peng, Y. Ye, and Y. Gao, C. Shu, S. Jiang. 2005. Zìgòng dìqū zhū luó jì kǒnglóng dòngwù qún [Jurassic Dinosaur Faunas in Zigong].
O. W. M. Rauhut. 2005. Osteology and relationships of a new theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Patagonia. Palaeontology 48(1):87-110 DOI ↗
O. W. M. Rauhut. 2003. A dentary of Patagosaurus (Sauropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Patagonia. Ameghiniana 40(3):425-432
J. B. Delair and W. A. S. Sarjeant. 2002. The earliest discoveries of dinosaurs: the records re-examined. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 113:185-197 DOI ↗
J. I. Ruiz-Omeñaca and X. Pereda-Suberbiola. 1999. Un documento inédito de Royo y Gómez sobre los dinosaurios del Levante [An unpublished document by Royo y Gómez on the dinosaurs of Levante]. Temas Geologico-Mineros ITGE 26:111-112
Y. Zhang. 1988. The Middle Jurassic dinosaur fauna from Dashapu, Zigong, Sichuan. Vol. I. Sauropod dinosaur (1). Shunosaurus. Sichuan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Chengdu
Z. Dong, S. Zhou, and H. Zhang. 1983. [Dinosaurs from the Jurassic of Sichuan]. Palaeontologica Sinica, New Series C, Whole Number 162(23):1-136
J. F. Bonaparte. 1979. Dinosaurs: a Jurassic assemblage from Patagonia. Science 205:1377-1378 DOI ↗
G. S. Boulger. 1876. Note on a cetiosauroid tooth (exhibited on the 25th of April, 1876, at the West London Scientific Association). Proceedings of the West London Scientific Association and Field Club 1:99-100