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Photo by Kumiko in Tokyo, Japan

The Good Marsh Foot, Euhelopus zdanskyi, was renamed in 1956 by A. S. Romer. The original name was simply Helopus zdanskyi as described  by Carl Wiman in 1929. Collected by Otto Zdanskyi in 1923 after being discovered in 1913 by a Catholic missionary named Father Metrens, the fossil originated in the Mengyin Formation of Shandong Province, China. This formation is of Cretaceous origin and this respectably large sauropod (between 15-20 tons and 15 m (49 ft) long) was very interesting in a multitude of ways. One of the most obvious and interesting characteristics that is readily seen is the configuration of the legs. In most sauropods the forelimbs are shorter than the hindlimbs. However, Euhelopus the forelimbs are longer than the hindlimbs by a significant and appreciable amount. This was also the first fossil that was discovered and recovered from China. The knowledge that dinosaurs existed in China, thanks to this discovery, would lead to many future digs and eventually discoveries that are monumentally important. However, the story of Euhelopus is unique, interesting, and is going to make for a fun study this week.