Dino card No. 0489 of 2,027

Datai

Say it: DAH-tie

Name means: “The name combines parts of the Chinese words 'tongda' (to understand) and 'antai' (stable), meaning something like 'understanding and stable'.”1

Ate: PlantsArmoured dinosLate Cretaceous

Datai was an armored dinosaur that walked on four legs and had bony plates and spikes on its body. It had a pair of horns on its cheeks, which made it look extra tough. It lived in what is now China, about 90 million years ago.1 2

Lived

94 to 86 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Fossils were found in the Zhoutian Formation in Jiangxi Province, China, at the Mazhou site.1 3

Food

Plants3

Length

3.5 to 4 m2

The two known specimens were subadults, so adults might have been a bit longer.

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 2 bicycles in a rowas long as 22 bananas end to end

How big was Datai compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Datai had a pair of horns on its cheeks, which is unusual and helped scientists identify it as a new species.2

The two Datai fossils were found lying on top of each other, likely because they were buried quickly by wind-blown sand.2

The neck bones of one Datai had curved holes about 2 cm wide, probably made by small creatures like mollusks burrowing in the sediment after the dinosaur died.2

Datai's tail had ossified tendons, which suggests it may have had a tail club for defense.1

Scientists used Datai's features to help make the family tree of ankylosaurs more stable, because before, many relationships were uncertain.1

Datai lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 96 to 90 million years ago, which is a time when many armored dinosaurs roamed.1

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

?What did Datai eat?

Datai was a plant-eating dinosaur. It was a ground-dwelling herbivore, so it likely ate low-growing plants.3

?Did Datai have a tail club?

It likely did. Its tail bones were surrounded by ossified tendons, which suggests it may have had a tail club for defense.1

?How big was Datai?

Scientists don't know exactly, because the fossils are from young, not fully grown individuals. The known specimens were immature, so their adult size is uncertain.1

?When did Datai live?

Datai lived during the Late Cretaceous, about 96 to 90 million years ago, in what is now China.1

Ask Rex about Datai

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think all armored dinosaurs had tail clubs, but not all did.

Truth: Datai likely had a tail club because of ossified tendons near its tail, but many other ankylosaurs did not have one.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Datai
Named by: Xing et al. 20243
Group: Armoured dinos
Family / clade: Ankylosauridae3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Ankylosauridae > Thyreophora3
Age of the rocks: 94 to 86 million years (Turonian / Coniacian)3
Rock formations: Zhoutian3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: The fossils were found in 2016 in Jiangxi Province, China, and later acquired by the Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum. In 2024, a team led by Xing Lida named the new species Datai yingliangis.1 2
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly where Datai fits in the ankylosaur family tree. Depending on the analysis, it appears either as a basal ankylosaurine or as a close relative of Pinacosaurus.1

Where the facts come from

Datai (en.wikipedia.org)
Fossils of new armored dinosaur species found in east China-Xinhua (english.news.cn)
Datai 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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