Bayannurosaurus

Say it like this: “BAY-a-NOOR-oh-SOR-us”

Bayannurosaurus perfectus

Bayannurosaurus ate plants and walked on two legs. It lived in the Early Cretaceous. Bones have been found in China.

Quiz me on Bayannurosaurus

When: Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago
Named in: 2018 · Xu, X.; Tan, Q.; Gao, Y.; Bao, Z.; Yin, Z.; Guo, B.; Wang, J.; Tan, L.; Zhang, Y.; Xing, H.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 9 m · 30 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: China · Bayin-Gobi
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Styracosterna

The story in short

Bayannurosaurus was formally named in 2018 by X. Xu and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Bayannurosaurus date to the Early Cretaceous (Aptian), roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Bayin-Gobi Formation. It was a herbivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Bayannurosaurus at a length near 9 m.

On the family tree it sits in Styracosterna, among the ornithopod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Calvarius

Calvarius rapidus

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

Cedrorestes

Cedrorestes crichtoni

Early Cretaceous (Aptian) · roughly 121.4 to 113.2 million years ago

Dakotadon

Dakotadon lakotaensis

Early Cretaceous (Valanginian · Hauterivian · Barremian) · roughly 137.1 to 121.4 million years ago