Jiangxisaurus

Say it: jyang-shee-SORE-us

Name means: “Jiangxi lizard”1

Ate: A bit of everythingOdd feathered dinosLate Cretaceous

Jiangxisaurus was a medium-sized dinosaur that looked a bit like a bird. It had a toothless beak and three fingers on each hand, and it probably ate both plants and small animals.1 3

Lived

72 to 66 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Nankang, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, southern China1 3

Food

A bit of everything1 3

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Jiangxisaurus had a very long lower jaw compared to other oviraptorids, with a height-to-length ratio of about 20%.1

Its arm bones show that the radius (forearm bone) was only about 70% as long as the humerus (upper arm bone).1

The only known fossil of Jiangxisaurus is a partial skeleton that includes part of the skull, neck bones, and a nearly complete shoulder and arm.1

This dinosaur lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, during the very end of the Cretaceous Period.1 3

Jiangxisaurus shared its home with many other dinosaurs, including the tyrannosaur Qianzhousaurus and several other oviraptorids.1

Its skull was about 150 mm long, and the animal was probably a sub-adult when it died.1

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

?What did Jiangxisaurus eat?

Jiangxisaurus was most likely an omnivore, eating both plants and small animals. Its toothless beak and weak lower jaw suggest it may have eaten soft foods like leaves and seeds.1 2

?How big was Jiangxisaurus?

Jiangxisaurus was a medium-sized oviraptorid dinosaur. Its skull was about 150 mm long, and the only known fossil is from a sub-adult, so full size is not certain.1

?When did Jiangxisaurus live?

Jiangxisaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous Period, about 72 to 66 million years ago.1

Ask Rex about Jiangxisaurus

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: Jiangxisaurus
Named by: Wei et al. 20133
Group: Odd feathered dinos
Family / clade: Oviraptoridae3
Classification: Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria3
Age of the rocks: 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Jiangxisaurus was named and described by Wei Xuefang, Pu Hanyong, Xu Li, Liu Di, and Lü Junchang in 2013. The only specimen was found in red sandstone in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure exactly how Jiangxisaurus is related to other oviraptorids, though some studies place it in the group Heyuanninae.3

Where the facts come from

Jiangxisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
A New Oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Southern China and Its Paleoecological Implications | PLOS One (journals.plos.org)
Jiangxisaurus 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