Nanyangosaurus

Say it like this: “nahn-yahng-o-SAWR-us”

Nanyangosaurus zhugeii

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

Quiz me on Nanyangosaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Coniacian) · roughly 89.8 to 85.7 million years ago
Named in: 2000 · Xu, X.; Zhao, X. J.; Lü, J. C.; Huang, W. B.; Li, Z. Y.; Dong, Z. M.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 4–5 m · 13–16 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: China · Xiaguan
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Hadrosauromorpha

The story in short

In 2000, X. Xu and colleagues published the name Nanyangosaurus. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Nanyangosaurus date to the Late Cretaceous (Coniacian), roughly 89.8 to 85.7 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Xiaguan Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Nanyangosaurus at a length near 4–5 m.

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

Close relatives

Bactrosaurus

Bactrosaurus johnsoni

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

Claosaurus

Claosaurus agilis

Late Cretaceous (Coniacian · Santonian) · roughly 89.8 to 83.6 million years ago

Eolambia

Eolambia caroljonesa

Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) · roughly 100.5 to 93.9 million years ago