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Bactrosaurus

Say it: bak-troh-SORE-us

Name means: “club lizard”1 2

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersLate Cretaceous

Bactrosaurus was an early relative of the duck-billed dinosaurs that lived in Asia. It had a bulky body and walked on four legs but could run on two. Scientists have found bones from at least 12 individuals, from babies to adults.2 1

Lived

94 to 72 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

China, Mongolia, and Kazakhstan3 2

Food

Plants2 3

Length

6 to 6.5 m2 1

Weight

1.2 tonnes1

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

How heavy was it?

as heavy as 40 big dogs

as long as 6 dogs nose to tailas long as 36 bananas end to endas heavy as 240 watermelons

How big was Bactrosaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Bactrosaurus is one of the earliest known hadrosauroids, the group that includes duck-billed dinosaurs.1

Its name means 'club lizard' because of the club-shaped spines on its backbone.1 2

Bactrosaurus had three teeth stacked for each visible tooth, a feature seen in more primitive relatives.1

No complete skeleton has been found, but scientists have uncovered parts of the skull, limbs, and pelvis.1

Bactrosaurus lived about 96 to 85 million years ago during the Late Cretaceous.1

Its thigh bone (femur) was about 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) long.1

AI-made picture of Bactrosaurus — An AI-made picture of how Bactrosaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Bactrosaurus

?How big was Bactrosaurus?

About 6 to 6.5 metres (20 to 21 feet) long and weighed about 1.2 metric tons (1.3 short tons).1

?What did Bactrosaurus eat?

Bactrosaurus was a herbivore, so it ate plants.1 2

?Did Bactrosaurus have a crest?

No, Bactrosaurus likely did not have a crest. Its skull is known but the crest is absent, and it is thought to be crestless.1

?When did Bactrosaurus live?

Bactrosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 96 to 85 million years ago.1 2

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Myth buster

Myth: Bactrosaurus had a crest on its head like some later duck-billed dinosaurs.

Truth: Bactrosaurus did not have a crest. Its skull was flat on top.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Bactrosaurus
Named by: Gilmore 19333
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Hadrosauroidea3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia3
Age of the rocks: 94 to 72 million years (Turonian / Campanian)3
Rock formations: Iren Dabasu, Baynshire, Dabrazhin3
Countries: China, Mongolia, Kazakhstan3
Fossil records: 8 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Bactrosaurus was named by Charles W. Gilmore in 1933 based on partial skeletons found in the Gobi Desert of China.1 3
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Bactrosaurus belongs to the hadrosaurid family or is a more primitive hadrosauroid.1

Where the facts come from

Bactrosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Bactrosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
Bactrosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are dino fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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