Zuoyunlong

Zuoyunlong huangi

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

When: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Santonian) · roughly 100.5 to 83.6 million years ago
Named in: 2017 · Wang, R. F.; You, H. L.; Wang, S. Z.; Xu, S. C.; Yi, J.; Xie, L. J.; Jia, L.; Xing, H.
Hip height: Not established
Length: 7.5 m · 25 ft
Weight: Not established
Found in: China · Zhumapu
Food and walking: Herbivore · Two or four legs
Kind: beaked plant-eater · Ornithopod
Family branch: Hadrosauroidea

The story in short

The genus Zuoyunlong dates to 2017, the year R. F. Wang and colleagues described it. The name honors a person tied to the fossil or its study.

Fossils referred to Zuoyunlong date to the Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian–Santonian), roughly 100.5 to 83.6 million years ago. Finds come from China, including the Zhumapu Formation. It was a herbivore and could move on two or four legs.

Published estimates put Zuoyunlong at a length near 7.5 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