| Diet | Herbivore |
| Height | 6m |
| Length | 30m |
| Weight | 50 tonnes |
| Environment | Land |
| Era | Cretaceous |
| Period | Early Cretaceous |
| Type | Sauropod |
| Location | China |
Daxiatitan was a colossal sauropod dinosaur that roamed the forests of what is now western China during the Early Cretaceous period, approximately 126 million years ago. At the time of its discovery, this massive herbivore was considered potentially the largest dinosaur ever found in China, highlighting the incredible diversity of giant dinosaurs that once inhabited Asia.
This enormous sauropod measured an estimated 30 metres in length and stood about 6 metres tall at the hip, with a tremendously long neck that allowed it to reach vegetation high in the treetops. Like other sauropods, Daxiatitan walked on four pillar-like legs and possessed a relatively small head compared to its massive body. Its long tail helped counterbalance its extended neck, creating the classic sauropod silhouette.
As a herbivore, Daxiatitan spent most of its time feeding on conifers, ferns, and other prehistoric plants. Its long neck gave it access to food sources that smaller dinosaurs couldn't reach, allowing it to browse on treetops up to 20 metres above the ground. The dinosaur's teeth were designed for stripping leaves rather than chewing, so it likely swallowed stones to help grind up plant material in its stomach.
Daxiatitan belongs to the Euhelopodidae family, a group of sauropods that were particularly common in Asia during the Cretaceous period. Despite its enormous size, our knowledge of this dinosaur comes from a single partial skeleton, which includes most of the neck and back vertebrae, demonstrating just how much we can learn from incomplete fossil remains.
Daxiatitan was distinguished by its enormous size, with particularly massive vertebrae that suggest it was one of the largest dinosaurs ever discovered in China. Its neck vertebrae were exceptionally long and robust, indicating an extremely elongated neck even by sauropod standards.
Daxiatitan likely lived in small herds and spent most of its day feeding on high vegetation, using its massive neck to reach treetops that other dinosaurs couldn't access. Due to its enormous size, it probably moved relatively slowly and relied on its sheer bulk for protection from predators.
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Saurischia |
| Genus | Daxiatitan |
Daxiatitan was first described by You Hailu and colleagues in 2008. The original fossils were discovered at Gansu Province, China.
