Qianjiangsaurus

Say it like this: “chee-EN-jyahng-SOR-us”

Qianjiangsaurus changshengi

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

Quiz me on Qianjiangsaurus

When: Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian) · roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago
Named in: 2024 · Dai, H.; Ma, Q.; Xiong, C.; Lin, Y.; Zeng, H.; Tan, C.; Wang, J.; Zhang, Y.; Xing, H.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 8 m · 26 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: China · Zhengyang
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Hadrosauroidea

The story in short

Qianjiangsaurus was formally named in 2024 by H. Dai and colleagues. The name means “qianjiang lizard.”

It lived in the Late Cretaceous (Campanian · Maastrichtian), roughly 83.6 to 66 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Zhengyang Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Qianjiangsaurus at a length near 8 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