Haolong

Say it like this: “HOW-long”

Haolong dongi

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

Quiz me on Haolong

When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2026 · Huang, J.; Wu, W.; Mao, L.; Bertozzo, F.; Dhouailly, D.; Robin, N.; Pittman, M.; Kaye, T. G.; Manucci, F.; He, X.; Wang, X.; Godefroit, P.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 2.5 m · 8 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: China · Yixian
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Hadrosauroidea

The story in short

In 2026, J. Huang and colleagues published the name Haolong. The name means “spiny dragon.”

Fossils referred to Haolong date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian), roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Yixian Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Haolong at a length near 2.5 m.

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

Close relatives

Altirhinus

Altirhinus kurzanovi

Early Cretaceous (Albian) · roughly 113.2 to 100.5 million years ago

Batyrosaurus

Batyrosaurus rozhdestvenskyi

Late Cretaceous (Santonian · Campanian) · roughly 85.7 to 72.2 million years ago

Bolong

Bolong yixianensis

Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago