Named By: | L. Xing, T. Miyashita, P. J Currie, H. You & Z. Dong in 2013 |
Time Period: | Middle Jurassic, 174.1-168.3 Ma |
Location: | China, Yunnan Province - Zhanghe Formation |
Size: | Uncertain due to incomplete remains |
Diet: | Herbivore |
Fossil(s): | Braincase (the part of the skull that houses the brain) |
Classification: | | Chordata | Reptilia | Dinosauria | Saurischia | Sauropoda | Eusauropoda | |
Nebulasaurus is an extinct genus of basal eusauropod dinosaur known from the early Middle Jurassic Zhanghe Formation (Aalenian or Bajocian stage) of Yunnan Province, China. It is known only from the holotype braincase LDRC-v.d.1. A phylogenetic analysis found Nebulasaurus to be a sister taxon to Spinophorosaurus from the Middle Jurassic of Africa. This discovery is significant paleontologically because it represents a clade of basal eusauropods previously unknown from Asia.