Leshansaurus
- Lived
- 168 to 162 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Megalosauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Li et al. 2009
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Habitat
A landscape of rivers and lakes in what is now China. The Shaximiao Formation also contains Mamenchisaurus, Tuojiangosaurus and Yangchuanosaurus.
Field notes
About Leshansaurus
What it was like
Leshansaurus was a megalosaur, a mid-sized, two-legged meat eater related to Megalosaurus and Torvosaurus. It is known from part of one skeleton, with a long, low snout.
Its world
It lived in the Jurassic, in what is now China. It comes from the Shaximiao Formation, home to the long-necked Mamenchisaurus, the stegosaurs Tuojiangosaurus and Chungkingosaurus, and the larger predator Yangchuanosaurus.
How it was found
Li and colleagues named Leshansaurus in 2009.
Field gallery
More views of Leshansaurus
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 Leshansaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Leshansaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original specimen preserves a partial skull and body skeleton.
- A sharp ridge runs down the back of the skull, and the fused hip vertebrae have a ridge along their underside.
- Its hip blade has a distinct ridge beside the hip socket.
Borrowed from relatives
- Missing parts of the skeleton are restored by comparison with megalosaurs such as Megalosaurus and Torvosaurus.
Still unknown
- Its skin covering and color.
- Its precise position among megalosaur relatives.
- Which animals it usually hunted.
Discovery timeline
- 2009Named itLi et al.
- 2012Family treeCarrano, Benson & Sampson
- 2016Family treeRauhut, Hübner & Lanser
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Leshansaurus
Named it
Named Leshansaurus from a partial skeleton with distinctive ridges on the skull, hip vertebrae and hip blade.
A new carnosaur from the Late Jurassic of Qianwei, Sichuan, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 83: 1203-1210
No link available
Family tree
Placed Leshansaurus among megalosaurs rather than the relatives of Sinraptor proposed in its original description.
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)Family tree
Described Wiehenvenator and reconsidered megalosaur relationships, leaving Leshansaurus out of the analysis.
A new megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of north-western Germany: Implications for theropod evolution and faunal turnover in the Jurassic. Palaeontologia Electronica
Read the paper : A new megalosaurid theropod dinosaur from the late Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of north-western Germany: Implications for theropod evolution and faunal turnover in the Jurassic (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Megalosauridae
Sources: Wikidata