Lanzhousaurus

Say it like this: “lan-JOH-SAWR-us”

Lanzhousaurus magnidens

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

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When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian) · roughly 125.8 to 113.2 million years ago
Named in: 2005 · You, H.; Ji, Q.; Li, D.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 10 m · 33 ft
Weight: 6 tonnes
Found in: China
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Styracosterna

The story in short

Lanzhousaurus was formally named in 2005 by H. You and colleagues. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Lanzhousaurus date to the Early Cretaceous (Barremian · Aptian), roughly 125.8 to 113.2 million years ago. Finds come from China. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Lanzhousaurus at a length near 10 m and a body mass around 6 tonnes.

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

Close relatives

Bayannurosaurus

Bayannurosaurus perfectus

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

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