Venenosaurus (Poison Lizard)

Basic facts

  • 39 feet (12m) length

  • Early Cretaceous

  • USA

  • Herbivore

Venenosaurus, a sauropod dinosaur, once roamed what is now Utah during the Early Cretaceous period. Its sole species is Venenosaurus dicrocei. The discovery of Venenosaurus fossils dates back to 1998. It is classified as a titanosaur. The name Venenosaurus, which translates to "poison lizard," originates from its discovery in the Poison Strip Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation.

Venenosaurus was relatively small for a titanosaur, being only 12 metres or 39 feet in length and weighing approximately 6000 kg. Its closest relative would be the Cedarosaurus, although it these two are quite distinct from eachother. Venenosaurus had slender limbs for a sauropod, but this could be explained by its small size compared to larger sauropods, that would have required a more robust build.