Outline: a typical theropod
Xuanhanosaurus
"Xuanhan lizard"
Type species Xuanhanosaurus qilixiaensis
- Lived
- 171 to 168 million years ago, Middle Jurassic
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Group
- Theropods, Piatnitzkysauridae
- Found in
- China
- Named by
- Dong 1984
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
170 million years ago
Field notes
About Xuanhanosaurus
What it was like
Xuanhanosaurus was a medium-sized theropod with strong arms. It is known from part of the skeleton, including a front limb, backbone and shoulder.
Its world
It lived in the Middle 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 named Xuanhanosaurus in 1984. The type species is Xuanhanosaurus qilixiaensis. It was later found to be a close relative of Piatnitzkysaurus and Marshosaurus.
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
Close relatives
Other members of Piatnitzkysauridae
Sources: WikidataNamed in: Z. Dong. 1984. [A new theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Sichuan Basin]. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 22(3):213-218