Baiyinosaurus
"Baiyin lizard"
Type species Baiyinosaurus baojiensis
- Lived
- 168 to 165 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Stegosaurs, Huayangosauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Li et al. 2024
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
It lived near a lake delta in China, where rivers deposited sand and mud. Its remains come from sandstone in the Wangjiashan Formation.
Field notes
About Baiyinosaurus
What it was like
Baiyinosaurus was an early stegosaur, a plated plant eater. It is known from a partial skeleton with bones of the skull. It shows a mix of features from early armored dinosaurs and later stegosaurs.
Its world
It lived about 168 to 165 million years ago, in the Middle Jurassic, in what is now China. Its bones come from the Wangjiashan Formation.
How it was found
Li and colleagues named it in 2024. The type species is Baiyinosaurus baojiensis. Its closest relatives include Huayangosaurus.
Field gallery
More views of Baiyinosaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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The evidence
The science behind Baiyinosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial skeleton preserves pieces of the skull and vertebrae from the neck, back and tail.
- A broad, short bone in the skull roof resembles those of earlier armored dinosaurs.
- Its backbones retain features shared with early stegosaurs and their armored ancestors.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing skull parts are restored by comparison with Emausaurus.
- The legs and body armor follow other early stegosaurs, including Huayangosaurus and Gigantspinosaurus.
Still unknown
- The shapes and arrangement of its plates and spikes.
- Its skin color and overall body size.
- The plants it preferred to eat.
Discovery timeline
- 2017Close relativeSalgado et al.
- 2018Close relativeHAO et al.
- 2024Named itLi et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Baiyinosaurus
Close relative
Described Isaberrysaura with seeds in its gut, a dinosaur later compared with Baiyinosaurus in studies of early stegosaur relationships.
A new primitive Neornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of Patagonia with gut contents. Scientific Reports 7
Read the paper : A new primitive Neornithischian dinosaur from the Jurassic of Patagonia with gut contents (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Restudied Gigantspinosaurus, documenting large shoulder spines, skin impressions and an early position within the stegosaur family tree.
Redescription ofGigantspinosaurus sichuanensis(Dinosauria, Stegosauria) from the Late Jurassic of Sichuan, Southwestern China. Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition 92: 431-441
Read the paper : Redescription ofGigantspinosaurus sichuanensis(Dinosauria, Stegosauria) from the Late Jurassic of Sichuan, Southwestern China (opens in a new tab)Named it
Described a partial skull and backbone with a mix of early armored dinosaur and stegosaur features.
A new stegosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Middle Jurassic of Gansu Province, China. Scientific Reports 14(1):1–14.
No link available
Close relatives
Other members of Huayangosauridae
Sources: Wikidata