Tongtianlong
Tongtianlong was a sheep-sized, feathered dinosaur that looked a bit like a bird. It had a dome-shaped crest on its head and a toothless beak. This dinosaur lived in what is now southern China, right at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs.12
When did it live?
Fun facts
Tongtianlong was discovered during the construction of a high school. Workers used TNT blasting, which destroyed parts of the fossil, including some arm and leg bones.1
The fossil was found in a very unusual pose: its head was raised and its arms were splayed out to the sides. Scientists think it may have died while stuck in mud, trying to free itself.12
Tongtianlong had a dome-shaped skull crest, with the highest point just behind its eye socket. This made it different from other oviraptorids.12
It was a bird-like theropod dinosaur, covered in feathers. Oviraptorids like Tongtianlong are some of the most bird-like dinosaurs known.12
Tongtianlong is one of six different oviraptorosaur dinosaurs found in the same area of southern China. This shows that these dinosaurs were very diverse near the end of the Cretaceous.2
Most asked questions about Tongtianlong
?How big was Tongtianlong?
It was about 1 meter long, similar in size to a large sheep or small donkey.3
?Did Tongtianlong have feathers?
Yes, Tongtianlong was a feathered dinosaur. It belonged to a group of bird-like theropods called oviraptorids.13
?What did Tongtianlong eat?
It was omnivorous, meaning it ate both plants and meat. It had a toothless beak, so it likely ate small animals, eggs, and plants.1
?When did Tongtianlong live?
It lived about 66 to 72 million years ago, during the very end of the Cretaceous Period, right before the mass extinction that killed the large dinosaurs.3
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Tongtianlong
- Named by
- Lü et al. 20164
- Group
- Odd feathered dinos
- Family / clade
- Oviraptoridae4
- Classification
- Theropoda > Oviraptorosauria4
- Age of the rocks
- 72 to 66 million years (Maastrichtian)4
- Rock formations
- Hekou4
- Countries
- China4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Tongtianlong was named in 2016 by Lü Junchang and colleagues. The only known fossil was found by workers blasting rock for a new high school in Ganxian District, Jiangxi Province, China.12
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly what Tongtianlong ate. It may have eaten eggs, plants, shellfish, or nuts, but more evidence is needed.2
Where the facts come from
- Tongtianlong (en.wikipedia.org)
- A Late Cretaceous diversification of Asian oviraptorid dinosaurs: evidence from a new species preserved in an unusual posture | Scientific Reports (preview-www.nature.com)
- 'Mud Dragon' Dinosaur Unearthed—By Dynamite | National Geographic (nationalgeographic.com)
- Tongtianlong in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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