Dinosaur genus

Cetiosaurus

Owen 1841

Cetiosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 174.7–119.6 million years old, in 4 countries, most often the United Kingdom and Morocco.

Also calledja ケティオサウルスzh 鲸龙

medium

medium: Only Wikidata gives this; nothing contradicts it.

Confidence labels

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How sure are we?3 high10 medium15 lowHow we rate confidence

Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 11 October 2026

174.7–119.6 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Owen 1841
high
high: PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: R. Owen (1841). Description of a portion of the skeleton of the Cetiosaurus, a gigantic extinct saurian reptile occurring in the Oolitic formations of different portions of England. Proceedings of the Geological Society of London 3, part 2(80): 457–462.
high
high: PBDB gives this publication for the name; its author and year match the naming authority (Owen 1841), on which PBDB and Wikidata agree.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Lived: Aalenian to Aptian, 174.7–119.6 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives a range this precise; NHM's records give only a broader interval, which contains it.
Omnisaura calculation174.7–119.6 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 26 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: United Kingdom
high
high: NHM and PBDB both record it.
Morocco
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
France
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Spain
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: 15, including El Mers, Chipping Norton Limestone Formation, Wessex Formation and Arcillas de Morella
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Show all 15, each with its confidence
Chipping Norton Limestone Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
El Mers
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).
Wessex Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Arcillas de Morella
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Ashdown Formation
disputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Chalfield Oolite Formation
disputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Forest Marble Formation
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Hampen Marly
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Kimmeridge Clay Formation
disputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Northampton Sand Formation
disputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Oolithe miliaire
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Oxford Clay Formation
disputed
low: Only NHM gives this name and it matches no PBDB formation; awaiting an editor.
Rutland
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Sharp's Hill
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Tunbridge Wells Sand Formation
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database; Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Parent group: Gravisauria
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Order: Saurischia
medium
medium: Only NHM gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Natural History Museum Data Portal. How it was chosen: Gap filled from NHM.
Species named in its records: Cetiosaurus brevis, Cetiosaurus giganteus, Cetiosaurus mogrebiensis, Cetiosaurus oxoniensis
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
Diet: herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Sauropoda, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Way of life: ground dwelling, gregarious (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Sauropoda; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0), Natural History Museum Data Portal (CC0 1.0), Wikidata (CC0 1.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
Family: no source we use gives it yet.
What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Held back: 6 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified only to a broader group, not to this genus.
Resting on one source: 5 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): parent group (PBDB); order (NHM); age (headline) (PBDB); common names (Wikidata); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.