Banji

Say it like this: “BAHN-jee”

Banji long

Banji ate plants and meat and walked on two legs. It lived in the Late Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Banji

When: Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago
Named in: 2010 · Xu, X.; Han, F. L.
Hip height: 0.3 m · 1 ft
Length: 2.5 m · 8 ft
Weight: 85 kg · 187 lb
Found in: China · Nanxiong
Food and walking: Omnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Oviraptoridae

The story in short

In 2010, X. Xu and F. L. Han published the name Banji. The name means “striped crest dragon.”

Fossils referred to Banji date to the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian), roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Nanxiong Formation. It was an omnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Banji at a length near 2.5 m, hips about 0.3 m high, and a body mass around 85 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Oviraptoridae, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Luoyanggia

Luoyanggia liudianensis

Early Cretaceous (Aptian · Albian) · roughly 121.4 to 100.5 million years ago

Nankangia

Nankangia jiangxiensis

Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) · roughly 72.2 to 66 million years ago

Oviraptor

Oviraptor philoceratops

Late Cretaceous (Campanian) · roughly 83.6 to 72.2 million years ago