Ganzhousaurus

Say it: GAN-zhoo-SORE-us

Name means: “Ganzhou lizard”1

Ate: A bit of everythingOdd feathered dinosLate Cretaceous

Ganzhousaurus was a small, bird-like dinosaur that lived in southern China near the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. It had a beaky mouth and probably used its strong claws and teeth to eat plants, seeds, and maybe even small animals.1 4

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago4

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Nankang County, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, southern China1 2

Food

A bit of everything4 1

Length

1.5 to 2 m3

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 house cats nose to tailas long as 11 bananas end to end

How big was Ganzhousaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Ganzhousaurus lived alongside at least four other oviraptorid dinosaurs, including Banji long and Nankangia jiangxiensis, all in the same area.1

Its lower jaw had a shallow groove and a special window (the external mandibular fenestra) that was split into two parts by a bone.2

The name Ganzhousaurus means 'Ganzhou lizard' after the city in China where its fossils were found.1

Ganzhousaurus lived during the very end of the Cretaceous Period, about 72 to 66 million years ago.1

Scientists are not sure exactly where Ganzhousaurus fits in the oviraptorid family tree; some think it is related to Oviraptor, others to the 'ingeniine' group.1

This dinosaur probably had feathers, like many of its oviraptorid relatives, helping it stay warm and maybe even show off.1

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

?How big was Ganzhousaurus?

Its exact size is not known from the sources, but it was a small oviraptorid dinosaur, similar in size to other members of its group.1 2

?What did Ganzhousaurus eat?

Ganzhousaurus was probably mostly herbivorous, eating plants and seeds with its beaky mouth and strong claws.1

?Did Ganzhousaurus have feathers?

Yes, like many of its oviraptorid relatives, Ganzhousaurus probably had feathers to keep warm and maybe for display.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Some people think all oviraptorids were egg thieves.

Truth: Ganzhousaurus and its relatives probably ate plants and small animals, not just eggs. Their beaks were well-suited for crushing seeds and tough plants.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Ganzhousaurus
Named by: Wang et al. 20134
Group: Odd feathered dinos
Family / clade: Oviraptoridae4
Classification: Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria4
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Ganzhousaurus was named in 2013 by scientists Shuo Wang, Chengkai Sun, Corwin Sullivan, and Xing Xu, based on a single skeleton found in the Nanxiong Formation of southern China.1 2
Still debated: Scientists still debate whether Ganzhousaurus was more closely related to Oviraptor or to the 'ingeniine' group of oviraptorids.1

Where the facts come from

Ganzhousaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
A new oviraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern China (mapress.com)
Ganzhousaurus - (dinosanddesigns.com)
Ganzhousaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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