Sonorasaurus
Pronunciation: so-NOR-ah-SORE-us
Sonorasaurus thompsoni
“Sonora lizard”
In 1994, Richard Thompson, a student at the University of Arizona, found the first and only Sonorasaurus fossils in the Whetstone Mountains of Southern Arizona.
In 2017, Jax Weldon, an 11-year-old student from Phoenix, wrote a letter to then-governor Doug Ducey proposing Sonorasaurus thompsoni as Arizona’s state dinosaur. The governor wrote him back, and on April 10, 2018, the bill was signed into law.
Art by Luke Starkweather
Where found: Arizona
Geologic time frame: Mid-Cretaceous, 112 – 93 million years ago
Diet: herbivore
Length: 49 – 55 ft
Plan your visit today!
The Phoenix Zoo is one of the largest non-profit zoos in the U.S., caring for over 3,000 animals, with nearly 400 species represented, including many threatened/endangered species.
Plan your visit today!
The Phoenix Zoo is one of the largest non-profit zoos in the U.S., caring for over 3,000 animals, with nearly 400 species represented, including many threatened/endangered species.
