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Description
Scientific name: Nebulasaurus taito
Diet: plants (at the Zoo they eat ferns and palm leaves)
Projected natural lifespan: 35 years
Length: 11.5 meters (~38 feet)
Weight: uncertain
Locality: Yunnan, China (Zhanghe Formation), 174.1 Ma (Middle Jurassic Aalenian)
Exhibit: Sauropod Alley

About:
Nebulasaurus may have been named very recently, known to fossil scientists by only a braincase. But this tiny bone holds the key to a big secret.

Description and behavior:
Nebulasaurus can easily be identified by its unique body shape. Its combination of tall, powerful shoulders, a vertically oriented neck, a deep chest and a powerful tail can only be found on two sauropods: Nebulasaurus and its closest relative, the African Spinophorosaurus. Both developed their distinctive body shape thanks to their unique niche. They were almost exclusively high browsers, perpetually cropping leaves from their preferred browsing height which they very rarely leave. This allowed it to coexist peacefully with contemporary mamenchisaurids, which were less picky about their food. Nebulasaurus also avoided them in its feeding time of choice; it preferred to eat in bouts at sunrise and sunset, when its distinctive coloration could best camouflage it against the colorful sky, instead of making it an obvious target for predators. But when a hungry carnivore sets it sight on Nebulasaurus, it can easily defend itself by swinging its neck, tail, body or limbs against its adversary. Its skin is covered in rough scales that sharpen to a fine point. Getting slapped by one is comparable to the feeling of pins and needles, only physical and at times permanent.

At the Zoo:
We have three Nebulasaurus at Sauropod Alley, named Crab, Eagle, and Horsehead. They couldn't be gendered because they keep trying to slap their caretakers. They coexist peacefully with our Moabosaurus.

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The behavior is inspired by elephants and thresher sharks.

The skeletal I used belongs to Vidal et al., 2020 (Spinophorosaurus)

Description
Scientific name: Nebulasaurus taito
Diet: plants (at the Zoo they eat ferns and palm leaves)
Projected natural lifespan: 35 years
Length: 11.5 meters (~38 feet)
Weight: uncertain
Locality: Yunnan, China (Zhanghe Formation), 174.1 Ma (Middle Jurassic Aalenian)
Exhibit: Sauropod Alley

About:
Nebulasaurus may have been named very recently, known to fossil scientists by only a braincase. But this tiny bone holds the key to a big secret.

Description and behavior:
Nebulasaurus can easily be identified by its unique body shape. Its combination of tall, powerful shoulders, a vertically oriented neck, a deep chest and a powerful tail can only be found on two sauropods: Nebulasaurus and its closest relative, the African Spinophorosaurus. Both developed their distinctive body shape thanks to their unique niche. They were almost exclusively high browsers, perpetually cropping leaves from their preferred browsing height which they very rarely leave. This allowed it to coexist peacefully with contemporary mamenchisaurids, which were less picky about their food. Nebulasaurus also avoided them in its feeding time of choice; it preferred to eat in bouts at sunrise and sunset, when its distinctive coloration could best camouflage it against the colorful sky, instead of making it an obvious target for predators. But when a hungry carnivore sets it sight on Nebulasaurus, it can easily defend itself by swinging its neck, tail, body or limbs against its adversary. Its skin is covered in rough scales that sharpen to a fine point. Getting slapped by one is comparable to the feeling of pins and needles, only physical and at times permanent.

At the Zoo:
We have three Nebulasaurus at Sauropod Alley, named Crab, Eagle, and Horsehead. They couldn't be gendered because they keep trying to slap their caretakers. They coexist peacefully with our Moabosaurus.

----

The behavior is inspired by elephants and thresher sharks.

The skeletal I used belongs to Vidal et al., 2020 (Spinophorosaurus)