Sinankylosaurus
"Chinese fused lizard"
Type species Sinankylosaurus zhuchengensis
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Ankylosaurs
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Wang et al. 2020
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
The Hongtuya Formation records rivers and floodplains in what is now eastern China. Other dinosaurs from these rocks include Shantungosaurus, Zhuchengtyrannus and Sinoceratops.
Field notes
About Sinankylosaurus
What it was like
Sinankylosaurus is known only from one hip bone. It was first described as an ankylosaur, an armored plant eater, but later study suggests the bone may not come from one at all.
Most scientists treat the name as doubtful.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now eastern China. Its bone comes from the Hongtuya Formation, which has also produced the giant hadrosaur Shantungosaurus, the tyrannosaur Zhuchengtyrannus and the horned Sinoceratops.
How it was found
Wang and colleagues named Sinankylosaurus in 2020, from a single find.
Field gallery
More views of Sinankylosaurus
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 Sinankylosaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Sinankylosaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A single incomplete bone described as the right upper hip bone.
- The putative hip socket lacks the cup-like shape and supporting ridges found in ankylosaurs.
Borrowed from relatives
- An ankylosaur-shaped restoration borrows its skull, limbs and armor from animals such as Ankylosaurus.
Still unknown
- Which dinosaur group the bone belongs to.
- Whether it carried armor or a tail club.
- Its body shape, size and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2011Same rocksHone et al.
- 2020Named itWang et al.
- 2021Family treeZheng et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Sinankylosaurus
Same rocks
Named Zhuchengtyrannus from jaw bones, documenting a large predator in the same regional dinosaur assemblage.
A new, large tyrannosaurine theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China. Cretaceous Research 32: 495-503
Read the paper : A new, large tyrannosaurine theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China (opens in a new tab)Named it
Named Sinankylosaurus from an incomplete hip bone and interpreted it as an armored dinosaur.
A new ankylosaurian from the Late Cretaceous strata of Zhucheng, Shandong Province. Geological Bulletin of China 39: 958-962
No link available
Family tree
Compared an ankylosaur hip bone with Sinankylosaurus, rejected the latter's ankylosaur identification and judged its name doubtful.
First definitive ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Jilin Province, northeastern China. Cretaceous Research 127: 104953
Read the paper : First definitive ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Jilin Province, northeastern China (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Ankylosauria
Sources: Wikidata