Napaisaurus
Type species Napaisaurus guangxiensis
- Lived
- 121 to 113 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Ornithopods
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Ji and Zhang 2022
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
115 million years ago
Habitat
Rivers crossed a warm, dry landscape in southern China. Other dinosaurs from the Xinlong Formation include Fusuisaurus, Liubangosaurus and Datanglong.
Field notes
About Napaisaurus
What it was like
Napaisaurus was a plant eater related to Iguanodon. It is known from hip bones.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous in what is now southern China. Its bones come from the Xinlong Formation, where the sauropods Fusuisaurus and Liubangosaurus also lived.
How it was found
Ji and Zhang named it in 2022. The type species is Napaisaurus guangxiensis.
Field gallery
More views of Napaisaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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 Napaisaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Napaisaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original find consists of a right ilium and ischium, bones from the hip.
- Their combination of shapes distinguishes Napaisaurus from other known iguanodontians.
Borrowed from relatives
- The head, limbs and tail are restored by comparison with better-known iguanodontians such as Iguanodon.
Still unknown
- The shape of its skull and the proportions of its limbs.
- Its exact place among iguanodontians.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2015Its worldMO et al.
- 2022Named itJi & Zhang
- 2023Family treeManitkoon et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Napaisaurus
Its world
Described the animals of the Xinlong Formation and linked its river deposits to a warm, dry climate.
Early Cretaceous vertebrates from the Xinlong Formation of Guangxi (southern China): a review. Geological Magazine 153: 143-159
Read the paper : Early Cretaceous vertebrates from the Xinlong Formation of Guangxi (southern China): a review (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Napaisaurus from hip bones with a distinctive combination of features, adding a new plant eater to the Early Cretaceous fauna of southern China.
[First new genus and species of basal iguanodontian dinosaur (Ornithischia: Ornithopoda) from southern China]. Acta Geoscientia Sinica 43: 1-10
No link available
Family tree
Reviewed Napaisaurus and recommended comparing its hip bones with those of Sirindhorna to clarify its relationships.
Ornithischian dinosaurs in Southeast Asia: a review with palaeobiogeographic implications. Fossil Record 26: 1-25
Read the paper : Ornithischian dinosaurs in Southeast Asia: a review with palaeobiogeographic implications (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Styracosterna
Sources: Wikidata