Kaijiangosaurus
"Kaijiang lizard"
- Lived
- 171 to 168 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- He 1984
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
170 million years ago
Habitat
It lived in the landscape preserved by the Shaximiao Formation in China, alongside Shunosaurus and Huayangosaurus. The same formation preserves conifers, cycads and ferns.
Field notes
About Kaijiangosaurus
What it was like
Kaijiangosaurus was a two-legged predator known from some neck bones and parts of the limbs. Some scientists think it may be the same animal as Gasosaurus, found in the same region.
Its world
It lived in the Middle Jurassic in what is now China. Its bones come from the Shaximiao Formation, where it shared the land with the long-necked Shunosaurus and the early stegosaur Huayangosaurus.
How it was found
He named Kaijiangosaurus in 1984 from one find. It is named after a river.
Field gallery
More views of Kaijiangosaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
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 Kaijiangosaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Kaijiangosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original specimen consists of short neck vertebrae with flat front ends and hollowed rear ends.
- The neck vertebrae have short bony spines that lean slightly backward.
Borrowed from relatives
- Its missing skull, neck, trunk and tail are compared with Dubreuillosaurus, and its missing hands and feet with Torvosaurus.
Still unknown
- Whether all the skull, shoulder and limb bones assigned to it belong to the same kind of dinosaur.
- Its exact place among early theropods.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 1984Named itHe
- 2009Family treeXI-JIN et al.
- 2012Family treeCarrano, Benson & Sampson
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Kaijiangosaurus
Named it
Named Kaijiangosaurus from neck bones and assigned additional skeletal remains to it.
The Vertebrate Fossils of Sichuan. Sichuan Scientific and Technological Publishing House, Chengdu.
No link available
Family tree
Compared Kaijiangosaurus with other early theropods and noted that the original descriptions of its bones are short.
The postcranial skeleton ofMonolophosaurus jiangi(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Xinjiang, China, and a review of Middle Jurassic Chinese theropods. Geological Magazine 147: 13-27
Read the paper : The postcranial skeleton ofMonolophosaurus jiangi(Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Xinjiang, China, and a review of Middle Jurassic Chinese theropods (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Reviewed its neck vertebrae and questioned whether the other assigned bones represent a single kind of dinosaur.
The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10: 211-300
Read the paper : The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda) (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Tetanurae
Sources: Wikidata