Heyuannia
Heyuannia was a small, toothless dinosaur that lived in what is now China and Mongolia. It had a short, steep snout and very short arms, and it may have been a good parent that sat on its eggs like a bird.2
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Fun facts
Heyuannia was the first oviraptorid dinosaur ever found in China. Most other oviraptorids come from Mongolia.2
Its eggs were blue-green in color, like the eggs of American robins. This color may have helped hide the eggs or send signals to other dinosaurs.2
Thousands of eggs have been found at the same site as Heyuannia, and some were probably laid by this dinosaur.2
Heyuannia had very short arms and its first finger was tiny. Its thumb claw was twice as big as the second claw.2
One fossil of Heyuannia may preserve reproductive organs, which is very rare for dinosaurs.2
Scientists think Heyuannia sat on its eggs to keep them warm, but it could not cover all the eggs at once. The outer eggs were cooler than the inner ones.2
Most asked questions about Heyuannia
?How big was Heyuannia?
Heyuannia was about 1.5 to 2 metres long (5 to 6.5 feet) and weighed around 20 kilograms (44 pounds).21
?What did Heyuannia eat?
Heyuannia was omnivorous, meaning it ate both plants and small animals.1
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Heyuannia
- Named by
- Lü 20034
- Group
- Odd feathered dinos
- Family / clade
- Oviraptoridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria4
- Age of the rocks
- 84 to 66 million years (Campanian / Maastrichtian)4
- Rock formations
- Dongyuan, Baruungoyot4
- Countries
- China, Mongolia4
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Also known as
- Ajancingenia (older names now counted as the same animal)4
- Discovery
- The first species, Heyuannia huangi, was named by Lü Junchang in 2002. The name honors the city of Heyuan in China and Huang Dong, director of the Heyuan Museum. The second species was originally called Ingenia yanshini by Rinchen Barsbold in 1981, but later moved to Heyuannia.2
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly where Heyuannia fits in the oviraptorid family tree. Some think it belongs in Oviraptorinae, others in Ingeniinae.2
Where the facts come from
- Heyuannia | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Heyuannia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Dinosaurs Laid Blue Eggs—And That's a Big Deal | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
- Heyuannia in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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