Jeholosaurus
Jeholosaurus was a small, speedy plant-eater that lived in ancient China. It had a beak and cheek teeth for chomping plants, but its front teeth were sharp like a meat-eater's, so it might have eaten a few bugs too!1
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Fun facts
Jeholosaurus had a very fast tooth replacement rate, with new teeth growing every 46 days, faster than most early plant-eaters.1
Its eye socket was huge, making up 40% of the skull length, which is a sign it was a young animal.1
The front teeth were narrow and long, like a meat-eater's, but the back teeth were fan-shaped for chewing plants.1
The hip bone pointed backward, which is typical for ornithischian dinosaurs, but it also had a forward-pointing bone that supported its belly.1
All known fossils are from young animals, so scientists don't know exactly how big an adult could get.1
Most asked questions about Jeholosaurus
?How big was Jeholosaurus?
The known fossils are from young animals, so the adult size is unknown. The largest specimen is about 71 centimetres long, with a skull of 6.3 centimetres.1
?What did Jeholosaurus eat?
It mostly ate plants, using its beak and fan-shaped cheek teeth. But its front teeth were sharp like a meat-eater's, so it might have also eaten small animals or bugs.1
?Was Jeholosaurus a dinosaur?
Yes, Jeholosaurus was a small ornithischian dinosaur, a group of plant-eating dinosaurs with bird-like hips.1
?Why did Jeholosaurus have a beak?
The beak helped it nip off plants. Its cheek teeth were fan-shaped for grinding them up, and it may have had fleshy cheeks to hold food while chewing.1
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Myth buster
Myth: Jeholosaurus was a meat-eater because it had sharp front teeth.
Truth: Its back teeth were for chewing plants, and it likely ate plants, though it might have eaten some insects or small animals too.1
For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Jeholosaurus
- Named by
- Xu et al. 20003
- Group
- Beaked plant-eaters
- Family / clade
- Thescelosauridae3
- Classification
- Ornithischia3
- Age of the rocks
- 126 to 120 million years (Barremian / Aptian)3
- Rock formations
- Yixian3
- Countries
- China3
- Fossil records
- 2 in the Paleobiology Database3
- Discovery
- The first fossils were found in 2000 at Lujiatun near Beipiao City, China, and named by Xu Xing and colleagues the same year.1
- Still debated
- Scientists still debate whether Jeholosaurus was a plant-eater or an omnivore, because its front teeth were sharp and its back teeth were for plants.1
Where the facts come from
- Jeholosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Cranial anatomy of Jeholosaurus shangyuanensis (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Early Cretaceous of China | Zootaxa (mapress.com)
- Jeholosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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