Daurosaurus

Say it: DOW-ro-SORE-us

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersMiddle Jurassic

Daurosaurus was a small, plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 168 to 165 million years ago. It had a beak and walked on two legs, and it is known from a nearly complete skeleton found in Russia.1 2

Lived

168 to 165 million years ago4

Middle Jurassic

Fossils found in

Fossils were found at the Kulinda locality in Transbaikalia, Russia.1 2

Food

Plants4

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Daurosaurus is known from a partial skeleton that includes preserved soft parts, which is very rare for dinosaurs.1

It had skin scales that split into bristles, a feature that scientists think may be an early step toward feathers.2

The fossil site was once a lake, and the dinosaur lived in a landscape with lakes and changing plant life.2

Scientists think Daurosaurus may have lived in groups, because the fossil record suggests it was gregarious.1

The age of the rocks where Daurosaurus was found was first thought to be Late Jurassic, but later studies showed it is actually Middle Jurassic, about 168 to 165 million years old.2

Daurosaurus is one of several small plant-eating dinosaurs found at the same site, along with Kulindapteryx and Kulindadromeus.2

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

?How big was Daurosaurus?

Daurosaurus was a small dinosaur. Its adult length is estimated at 1 metre, so it was quite small.4

?What did Daurosaurus eat?

Daurosaurus was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants. It had a beak for cropping plant material.4

?Did Daurosaurus have feathers?

Daurosaurus had skin scales that split into bristles, which scientists think may be an early step toward feathers. This is similar to the feather-like structures found on its relative Kulindadromeus.3 4

?When did Daurosaurus live?

Daurosaurus lived during the Late Bathonian stage of the Middle Jurassic, about 168 to 165 million years ago.4

?Where was Daurosaurus found?

Daurosaurus was found in the Ukureyskaya Formation in Zabaykal'ye, Russia. Its fossil was discovered at a site called Kulinda.4

?Did Daurosaurus live in groups?

Yes, the fossil record suggests Daurosaurus was gregarious, meaning it likely lived in groups.4

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think all dinosaurs with bristles or filaments were birds or ancestors of birds.

Truth: Daurosaurus was a plant-eating dinosaur, not a bird, but its bristle-like scales show that such features appeared in many dinosaur groups, not just bird relatives.2

For dino experts

Scientific name: Daurosaurus
Named by: Alifanov and Saveliev 20144
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Hypsilophodontidae4
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda4
Age of the rocks: 168 to 165 million years (Bathonian)4
Rock formations: Ukureyskaya4
Countries: Russia4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Daurosaurus was named by Russian scientists Vladimir Alifanov and Sergei Saveliev in 2014, based on a partial skeleton found at the Kulinda site in Transbaikalia, Russia.1 2
Still debated: Scientists debate whether Daurosaurus is a valid species, because some researchers think the name is doubtful (a nomen dubium) due to incomplete remains.1

Where the facts come from

PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
Two new ornithischian dinosaurs (Hypsilophodontia, Ornithopoda) from the Late Jurassic of Russia (researchgate.net)
Kulindadromeus (Wikipedia) (Wikipedia)
Daurosaurus 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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