Dinosaur genus
Tornieria
Tornieria is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 152.2–143.1 million years old, in Tanzania.
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- Named by
- Sternfeld 1911
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- R. Sternfeld (1911). Zur Nomenklatur der Gattung Gigantosaurus Fraas [On the nomenclature of the genus Gigantosaurus Fraas]. Sitzungsberichte der Gesellschaft Naturforschender Freunde zu Berlin 8: 398.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Sternfeld 1911).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.
- Type species
- Janenschia robusta
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Lived
- Kimmeridgian to Tithonian, 152.2–143.1 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation152.2–143.1 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 6 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- Tanzania
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Tendaguru Formation
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (6 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Family
- Diplodocidae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Diplodocinae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- 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).
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- Order: no source we use gives it yet.
- Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
- What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
- Held back: 1 fossil record left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf.", "?" or the name in quotation marks).
- Resting on one source: 6 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); type species (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); 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.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
No. Tornieria had gone at least 59.5 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Connections
Genera linked to Tornieria by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.
Same rocks, same time 11
Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.
Same family: Diplodocidae 7
Other genera in Diplodocidae with a full profile.
Found in Tanzania 11
Other genera found in Tanzania, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- Natural History Museum Data PortalCC0 1.0 · catalogued specimens
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
- PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
- Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines