Nebulasaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Nebulasaurus |
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| Holotype | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Eusauropoda |
| Genus: | †Nebulasaurus Xing et al., 2015 |
| Type species | |
| †Nebulasaurus taito Xing et al., 2015
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Nebulasaurus (say "Neb-yoo-lah-SAWR-us") means "misty cloud lizard." This dinosaur is a type of sauropod. We only know about it from a single fossil: its braincase. Scientists think it was related to another dinosaur called Spinophorosaurus.
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What Was Nebulasaurus?
Nebulasaurus was a sauropod dinosaur. Sauropods were giant plant-eating dinosaurs. They are famous for their very long necks and tails. Think of dinosaurs like Brontosaurus or Diplodocus. Nebulasaurus was first described in 2015.
We only have its braincase fossil. A braincase is the part of the skull that protects the brain. Because we only have this one part, it's hard to know exactly how big Nebulasaurus was. It's also hard to know what its full body looked like. But the braincase tells us a lot about its head and how its brain was shaped.
Where and When Did It Live?
Nebulasaurus lived during the Middle Jurassic period. This was about 174 to 168 million years ago. The Middle Jurassic was a time when many different kinds of dinosaurs roamed the Earth.
The fossil of Nebulasaurus was found in Yunnan province, which is in China. This area is known for having many important dinosaur fossils. Finding fossils helps scientists learn about ancient life. It also helps them understand what the Earth was like millions of years ago.
How Do We Know About It?
Scientists found the Nebulasaurus fossil in 2015. It was discovered by a team of paleontologists. These are scientists who study fossils. The main scientist who described it was Xing and his team.
Because we only have the braincase, scientists have to use clues. They compare it to other sauropod braincases. This helps them figure out where Nebulasaurus fits in the dinosaur family tree. They learned it was related to Spinophorosaurus. This suggests they might have shared similar features.
What is a Sauropod?
Sauropods were a group of dinosaurs. They were known for being very large. They walked on four strong legs. Their most famous features were their long necks and long tails. These dinosaurs were herbivores. This means they ate only plants. They used their long necks to reach leaves high up in trees. Some sauropods were the largest animals to ever walk on land!
Images for kids
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Interpretive drawings of the holotype
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Map showing where the holotype was discovered
See also
In Spanish: Nebulasaurus taito para niños
