Gobisaurus
Gobisaurus was a big, armoured dinosaur that munched on plants. It had a wide, bony skull and a tail that could be stiff at the end, like a handle. It lived in what is now China during the Early Cretaceous period.13
When did it live?
How big was it?
How big was Gobisaurus compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Fun facts
Gobisaurus had a skull that was 46 centimetres (18 inches) long and almost as wide, giving it a very broad, kite-shaped head.1
Its fossils were first discovered during a joint Soviet-Chinese expedition in the 1950s, but the skull was not studied until the 1990s.1
Gobisaurus is closely related to another ankylosaur called Shamosaurus, and they share many skull features like large oval eye sockets and nostrils.1
Some scientists think that another dinosaur named Zhongyuansaurus might actually be the same species as Gobisaurus.1
Unlike many later ankylosaurs, Gobisaurus did not have a bony club at the tip of its tail, but its tail vertebrae did lock together near the end.1
Most asked questions about Gobisaurus
?How big was Gobisaurus?
About 5 metres (16 feet) long. That is based on the size of its skull, which was 46 centimetres (18 inches) long and almost as wide.21
?What did Gobisaurus eat?
It ate plants. Gobisaurus was an herbivorous dinosaur that munched on vegetation.21
?Did Gobisaurus have a tail club?
No, it did not have a bony club at the tip of its tail. Its tail vertebrae did lock together near the end, making it stiff, but there was no club knob.1
?When did Gobisaurus live?
It lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 121 to 99 million years ago.21
?Is Gobisaurus a dinosaur?
Yes, it is a dinosaur. It belongs to the group Ankylosauria, which are armoured dinosaurs.21
?How did Gobisaurus get its name?
Its name means 'Gobi lizard', because it was found in the Gobi Desert. The species name 'domoculus' means 'hidden from view' in Latin, because its fossils were overlooked for 30 years.1
?Was Gobisaurus bigger than a person?
Yes, it was about 5 metres (16 feet) long, which is much longer than a person is tall.2
Ask Rex about Gobisaurus
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
- Gobisaurus
- Named by
- Vickaryous et al. 20013
- Group
- Armoured dinos
- Family / clade
- Ankylosauridae3
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Ankylosauria > Ankylosauridae > Thyreophora3
- Age of the rocks
- 121 to 100 million years (Aptian / Albian)3
- Rock formations
- Miaogou, Haoling3
- Countries
- China3
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Also known as
- Zhongyuansaurus (older names now counted as the same animal)3
- Discovery
- Gobisaurus was named in 2001 by Matthew Vickaryous, Anthony Russell, Philip Currie and Zhao Xijin. The skull was found in the Gobi Desert of Inner Mongolia and had been overlooked for decades.1
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly how old the Gobisaurus fossils are. Some studies suggest they are from the Barremian to Albian stages (about 125 to 100 million years ago), while others think they might be from the Turonian stage (about 90 million years ago).1
Where the facts come from
- Gobisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Gobisaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Gobisaurus 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
Ankylosaurus
Sauropelta
Pinacosaurus
Scutellosaurus
Struthiosaurus
Euoplocephalus
Stegosaurus
Iguanodon
Archaeopteryx
Giganotosaurus
Microraptor
Deinonychus