Dino card No. 0805 of 2,027

Hexing

Say it: HEH-shing

Name means: “like a crane”1

Ate: PlantsOstrich dinosEarly Cretaceous

Hexing was a small, fast dinosaur that looked a bit like a modern ostrich. It lived in what is now China during the Early Cretaceous period, about 125 to 120 million years ago.2 1

Lived

126 to 120 million years ago4

Early Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Xiaobeigou, Liaoning province, China1

Food

Plants2

Length

1 to 1.6 m1

estimated from comparison with Shenzhousaurus, since most of the backbone is missing

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 3 house cats nose to tailas long as 9 bananas end to end

How big was Hexing compared to YOU?

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

cool stuff

Fun facts

Hexing is one of the oldest known ornithomimosaurs, the group of ostrich-like dinosaurs.1

Its name means 'like a crane' in Chinese, and its species name means 'with slender wings'.1

The only fossil of Hexing was first found by a local farmer, who tried to make it look more valuable by adding fake parts. Scientists later removed those fake bits.1

Hexing had a very long hind leg compared to its thigh, which helped it run fast.3

Unlike later ornithomimosaurs, Hexing still had teeth in the front of its upper jaw.3

Hexing lived alongside many other amazing animals in the Jehol Biota, including early birds, mammals, and even feathered dinosaurs.3

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

?How big was Hexing?

Hexing was small, but its exact length is unknown because most of its backbone is missing. Comparing its thighbone to a similar dinosaur, Shenzhousaurus, which was 1.6 metres (about 5.2 feet) long, Hexing was probably smaller.1

?Did Hexing have teeth?

Yes, Hexing had a few small conical teeth in the front of its lower jaw, but its upper jaw was toothless. This is different from later ornithomimosaurs, which had no teeth at all.1

?When did Hexing live?

Hexing lived during the Early Cretaceous period, about 139 to 128 million years ago, based on the rocks where it was found. The page says about 125 to 120 million years ago, but the source gives a wider range.1 4

?Was Hexing a dinosaur?

Yes, Hexing was a theropod dinosaur, specifically an ornithomimosaur, which is a group of ostrich-like dinosaurs. It was not a bird, even though it looked a bit like an ostrich.1 3

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Hexing
Named by: Jin et al. 20124
Group: Ostrich dinos
Family / clade: Ornithomimosauria4
Classification: Theropoda > Ornithomimosauria4
Age of the rocks: 126 to 120 million years (Barremian / Aptian)4
Rock formations: Yixian4
Countries: China4
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
Discovery: Hexing was named and described in 2012 by Jin Liyong, Chen Jun, and Pascal Godefroit. The fossil was found at Xiaobeigou in Liaoning, China, in rocks that are about 128 to 139 million years old.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure whether Hexing or Shenzhousaurus was the more primitive ornithomimosaur, because the fossils of both are incomplete.3

Where the facts come from

Hexing (en.wikipedia.org)
PBDB Taxon (paleobiodb.org)
IU Press uncorrected proof. Copyrighted material. For proofing purposes only. (dinoweb.ucoz.ru)
Hexing 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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