Hexinlusaurus
- Lived
- 171 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Early ornithischians
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Barrett et al. 2005
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
Conifers grew beside streams in the region represented by the Shaximiao Formation. Shunosaurus, Huayangosaurus and Agilisaurus lived in the same part of Jurassic China.
Field notes
About Hexinlusaurus
What it was like
Hexinlusaurus was a small plant eater that ran on two legs. It is known from a partial skull and skeleton.
Its world
It lived in the Jurassic, in what is now China. It comes from the Shaximiao Formation, home to the sauropods Shunosaurus and Mamenchisaurus, the stegosaur Huayangosaurus and the predator Gasosaurus.
How it was found
Barrett and colleagues named Hexinlusaurus in 2005, for a species first placed in Yandusaurus.
Field gallery
More views of Hexinlusaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Hexinlusaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Hexinlusaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The type skeleton preserves much of the head and body; a separate partial skeleton belongs to another individual.
- A hollow on the outer surface of the bone behind the eye helps distinguish it from similar small plant eaters.
- Its shin was relatively long and its forearm short, and its innermost finger ended in a claw.
Borrowed from relatives
- Most of its body shape comes from its own skeleton; Lesothosaurus offers a comparison for the missing front of the snout and lower jaw.
- Its missing tail tip is reconstructed from other early ornithischians.
Still unknown
- Its skin covering and color.
- Exactly which plants it ate.
- Its closest relatives among early ornithischians.
Discovery timeline
- 2005Named itBarrett, Butler & Knoll
- 2008Family treeButler, Upchurch & Norman
- 2015Family treeBoyd
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Hexinlusaurus
Named it
Separated Hexinlusaurus from Yandusaurus and showed that the small plant eaters from the same locality were distinct dinosaurs.
Small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan, China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25: 823-834
Read the paper : Small-bodied ornithischian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan, China (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Placed Hexinlusaurus and Agilisaurus outside the ornithopod branch of the plant-eating dinosaur family tree.
The phylogeny of the ornithischian dinosaurs. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 6: 1-40
Read the paper : The phylogeny of the ornithischian dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Reassessed early ornithischian relationships, including Hexinlusaurus, using a broad comparison of skeletal features.
The systematic relationships and biogeographic history of ornithischian dinosaurs. PeerJ 3: e1523
Read the paper : The systematic relationships and biogeographic history of ornithischian dinosaurs (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Neornithischia
Sources: Wikidata