Yixianosaurus

Say it like this: “ee-SHYEN-oh-SAWR-us”

Yixianosaurus longimanus

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

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When: Early Cretaceous (Barremian) · roughly 125.8 to 121.4 million years ago
Named in: 2003 · Xu, X.; Wang, X. L.
Hip height: 0.3 m · 1 ft
Length: 1 m · 3 ft
Weight: 1 kg · 2 lb
Found in: China · Yixian
Food and walking: Carnivore · Two legs
Kind: sharp-clawed runner · Theropod
Family branch: Maniraptora

The story in short

The genus Yixianosaurus dates to 2003, the year X. Xu and X. L. Wang described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Yixianosaurus 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 carnivore and walked on two legs.

Published estimates put Yixianosaurus at a length near 1 m, hips about 0.3 m high, and a body mass around 1 kg.

On the family tree it sits in Maniraptora, among the theropod dinosaurs.

Close relatives

Archaeornithoides

Archaeornithoides deinosauriscus

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

Bradycneme

Bradycneme draculae

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

Elopteryx

Elopteryx nopcsai

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