Genus
Valid Extinct

Erketu

Ksepka and Norell 2006

Erketu is a genus of somphospondylan dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, roughly between 96 million and 89 million years ago. It is known from the Bayanshiree Formation of Mongolia, and its fossils were found between 2002 and 2003 during field expeditions. Erketu was first described in 2006 and later on in 2010 due to some cervicals that were left behind in the expedition. This genus represents the first sauropod described from the Bayanshiree Formation. The elongated cervical vertebrae indicate that it probably had the longest neck relative to its body size of any sauropod.

Temporal range
Triassic
Jurassic
Cretaceous
Paleogene
Neogene
252 201 145 66 0 Ma
PBDB occurrences
2
Group
Dinosaures
Herbivore Ground dwelling, gregarious Terrestrial
Erketu
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Wikimedia
Erketu
Erketu
Erketu
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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Neosauropoda Unranked clade
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Macronaria Unranked clade
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Titanosauriformes Unranked clade
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Somphospondyli Unranked clade
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Euhelopodidae Unranked clade
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Erketu Genus
Measurements
Length
16 m ⓘ
Erketu ellisoni  
15 m ⓘ
Mass
5 600 kg ⓘ
Erketu ellisoni  
Fossil sites 2 geolocated sites
Distribution
Top countries
🇲🇳 Mongolia
1
🇨🇳 China
1
Geological formations
Temporal distribution
Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)
1
Turonian (93.9–89.8 Ma)
1
Species (1)
Erketu ellisoni 101 Ma
Images 2
Bibliography
Original description
D. T. Ksepka and M. A. Norell. 2006. Erketu ellisoni, a long-necked sauropod from Bor Guvé (Dornogov Aimag, Mongolia). American Museum Novitates 3508:1-16 DOI ↗
Bibliography (2)
S. F. Poropat. 2013. Carl Wiman's sauropods: The Uppsala Museum of Evolution's collection. GFF (Geologiska Foreningen) 135(1):104-119 DOI ↗
D. T. Ksepka and M. A. Norell. 2006. Erketu ellisoni, a long-necked sauropod from Bor Guvé (Dornogov Aimag, Mongolia). American Museum Novitates 3508:1-16 DOI ↗