Outline: a typical early ornithischian
Xiaosaurus
"dawn lizard"
- Lived
- 171 to 155 million years ago, Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Early ornithischians, Fabrosauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Dong and Tang 1983
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
165 million years ago
Field notes
About Xiaosaurus
What it was like
Xiaosaurus was a small plant eater that ran on two legs. It is known from a few bones and teeth, so its looks are uncertain.
Its world
It lived in the Jurassic, in what is now China. It comes from the Shaximiao Formation, home to the sauropods Shunosaurus and Mamenchisaurus and the stegosaur Huayangosaurus.
How it was found
Dong and Tang named Xiaosaurus in 1983.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Fabrosauridae
Sources: WikidataNamed in: Z. Dong and Z. Tang. 1983. New ornithopod genus from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan Basin, China . Vertebrata PalAsiatica 21(2):168-171