Outline: a typical theropod
Huadanosaurus
Type species Huadanosaurus sinensis
- Lived
- 126 to 121 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Sinosauropterygidae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Qiu et al. 2025
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
125 million years ago
Field notes
About Huadanosaurus
What it was like
Huadanosaurus was a small, two-legged meat eater, known from a nearly complete skeleton that preserves traces of simple feathers. It is a close relative of Sinosauropteryx, one of the first dinosaurs found with feathers.
Its world
It lived about 126 to 121 million years ago, in the Early Cretaceous, in what is now northeastern China. Its skeleton comes from the Yixian Formation, known for its feathered dinosaurs, such as Sinosauropteryx, Sinornithosaurus and Beipiaosaurus.
How it was found
Qiu and colleagues named Huadanosaurus in 2025, from a single find.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Sinosauropterygidae
Sources: WikidataNamed in: R. Qiu, X. Wang, and S. Jiang, J. Meng, Z. Zhou. 2025. Two new compsognathid-like theropods show diversified predation strategies in theropod dinosaurs. National Science Review 12(5):nwaf068