Dino card No. 0416 of 2,027

Chuanqilong

Say it: chwan-CHEE-long

Name means: “legendary dragon”1

Ate: PlantsArmoured dinosEarly Cretaceous

Chuanqilong was an armoured dinosaur that lived in what is now China. It had a triangular skull and its body was covered in bony plates and small knobs for protection. Scientists think it was a young animal, so a full-grown Chuanqilong might have been even bigger.1 2

Lived

121 to 113 million years ago5

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Baishizui Village, Lingyuan City, Liaoning Province, China2

Food

Plants3

Length

4.5 m1 2

estimate based on a juvenile specimen; adult may have been larger

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

How long was it?

as long as 4 dogs nose to tailas long as 25 bananas end to end

How big was Chuanqilong compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

cool stuff

Fun facts

Chuanqilong is known from a nearly complete skeleton, missing only the tip of its tail.2

Unlike many later armoured dinosaurs, Chuanqilong did not have a club at the end of its tail.1

The fossil was found in the Jiufotang Formation, which is about 121 to 113 million years old.3

Chuanqilong was a medium-sized ankylosaur, measuring about 4.5 metres (14.8 feet) long as a juvenile.1

Its neck was protected by special bands of bony plates called cervical half rings.1

Chuanqilong shares many similarities with another Chinese ankylosaur called Liaoningosaurus, and scientists think they might be closely related.1 2

AI-made picture of Chuanqilong — An AI-made picture of how Chuanqilong 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 Chuanqilong

?How big was Chuanqilong?

As a juvenile, Chuanqilong was about 4.5 metres (14.8 feet) long. Scientists think a full-grown adult might have been even bigger, possibly as large as 8 metres (26 feet).1 4

?Did Chuanqilong have a tail club?

No, Chuanqilong did not have a club at the end of its tail. Unlike many later armoured dinosaurs, its tail lacked this feature.1

?What did Chuanqilong eat?

Chuanqilong was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. Like other ankylosaurs, it had teeth suited for chewing vegetation.1 2

?When did Chuanqilong live?

Chuanqilong lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 124 to 121 million years ago.1

Ask Rex about Chuanqilong

Rex only answers questions about this page. 3 questions a day.

Rex is an AI and can make mistakes. He runs on servers in the EU and questions are never saved. Never type your name or other personal things.

For dino experts

Scientific name: Chuanqilong
Named by: Han et al. 20145
Group: Armoured dinos
Family / clade: Ankylosauridae5
Classification: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Ankylosauridae > Thyreophora5
Age of the rocks: 121 to 113 million years (Aptian)5
Rock formations: Jiufotang5
Countries: China5
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
Discovery: Chuanqilong was named in 2014 by Fenglu Han and colleagues based on a nearly complete skeleton found by local farmers in Liaoning, China. The name means 'legendary dragon' in Chinese.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Chuanqilong is actually a young Liaoningosaurus or a separate species, because the only known specimen is a juvenile.1

Where the facts come from

Chuanqilong (en.wikipedia.org)
A New Basal Ankylosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, China (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Giant Armored Dinosaur Unearthed in China | Live Science (livescience.com)
Chuanqilong 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.

Rex is hungry! Dino Wiki is a dad's project for his dino-loving son, free with no ads. Grown-ups can feed Rex a snack to help keep it online.Feed Rex