Rhoetosaurus

Rhoetus lizard (lizard of the giant Rhoetus)

• Rhoetos (Rhoetus) · Greek · a giant of Greek mythology
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines Rhoetus, a giant from Greek mythology who fought the gods, with the Greek word for lizard. It was chosen to reflect the huge size of this sauropod. The type species is Rhoetosaurus brownei, named for the Brown family, who found and helped excavate the fossils.

Named by

Longman

Year named

1926

Period

Middle Jurassic

Found in

Walloon Coal Measures, near Durong, Queensland, Australia

A sauropod dinosaur, one of the best-known sauropods from Australia and among the earliest known from the continent. Exact stage dating of the fossils is uncertain, so stages are left blank.