Euhelopus

Phylogeny: Dinosauria > Saurischia > Sauropodomorpha > Plateosauria > Massopoda > Sauropodiformes > Sauropoda > Gravisauria > Eusauropoda > Neosauropoda > Macronaria > Titanosauriformes > Somphospondyli > Euhelopodidae

Overview: Euhelopus was the first dinosaur ever described from China, though said description was done under a slightly different name. The fossil site containing the holotype specimen was noted in the 1910’s, but the bones weren’t excavated until almost a decade later, in the eastern province of Shandong. In 1929, the Swedish paleontologist Carl Wiman would formally describe the fossils. He recognized it as a new sauropod genus, giving it its initial generic name – Helopus. The name means “marsh foot” in Greek, referring to the wetlands surrounding the site where it was found. This name, however, was later found to already be in use for a modern bird genus. Euhelopus would formally be renamed in 1956 by the American researcher Alfred S. Romer. By that time, of course, a handful of other Chinese dinosaurs had been described since Wiman’s original publication.

Wiman and those who followed him had a fair amount to work with when it comes to Euhelopus, considering most of its skeleton has been recovered. Even its skull is known, which is fairly rare for a sauropod, considering how lightly constructed their skulls often were. This was certainly the case with its skull, which was boxy in form with a fairly deep, sloping snout. Its forelimbs were relatively long, giving it an upwardly inclined back. In addition to its long neck, this allowed it to browse from fairly tall trees. Euhelopus itself wasn’t a massive sauropod, being only fourteen to fifteen meters in length. This was fairly normal for dinosaurs in its family, the Euhelopodidae. Euhelopodids tend to be classifies as macronarian sauropods, potentially closely related to the titanosaurs. However, some have found them to be potential relatives of the more basal mamenchisaurid family.