Tuojiangosaurus
Tuojiangosaurus was a plated dinosaur that munched on soft plants in what is now China. It had two rows of bony plates along its back and spikes on its tail to defend itself.12
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Fun facts
Tuojiangosaurus had about 17 pairs of plates and spikes along its back and tail.2
The spikes at the end of its tail pointed outward at about 45 degrees and are called a 'thagomizer'.2
Unlike Stegosaurus, the plates on Tuojiangosaurus were parallel to each other, not alternating.2
Its front legs were quite short compared to its back legs.2
Tuojiangosaurus lived during the Late Jurassic, about 157 to 154 million years ago.1
The first fossil was found in 1974 during construction of a dam in Zigong, Sichuan.2
Most asked questions about Tuojiangosaurus
?How big was Tuojiangosaurus?
It was about 6.5 to 7 metres long (21 to 23 feet) and weighed around 2.8 metric tons (3.1 short tons).2
?What did Tuojiangosaurus eat?
It ate low-lying plants like ferns, horsetails, and cycads. It had small snipping teeth and a beaked mouth for plucking vegetation.21
?Did Tuojiangosaurus have a thagomizer?
Yes, it had at least two spikes on each side of its tail tip, pointing outward at about 45 degrees. This spike cluster is called a thagomizer.2
?Where was Tuojiangosaurus found?
Its fossils were discovered in Sichuan Province, China, in 1974 during construction of the Wujiaba dam.2
?Could Tuojiangosaurus stand on its hind legs?
Probably not. Its backbone lacked the special vertebrae needed to rear up, so it likely only ate plants close to the ground.4
?How many plates did Tuojiangosaurus have?
It had about 17 pairs of plates and spikes running along its back and tail. The plates were parallel to each other, unlike Stegosaurus.2
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For dino experts
- Scientific name
- Tuojiangosaurus
- Named by
- Dong et al. 19775
- Group
- Plated dinos
- Family / clade
- Stegosauridae5
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Stegosauria > Thyreophora5
- Age of the rocks
- 168 to 162 million years (Bathonian / Callovian)5
- Rock formations
- Shaximiao5
- Countries
- China5
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database5
- Discovery
- Tuojiangosaurus was named and described in 1977 by Dong Zhiming, Zhou Shiwu, Li Xuanmin and Chang Yijong, exactly 100 years after Stegosaurus was named. The holotype skeleton is one of the most complete stegosaur skeletons found in Asia.2
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure exactly where Tuojiangosaurus fits in the stegosaur family tree. Some studies place it outside Stegosauridae, while others group it with Huayangosaurus.2
Where the facts come from
- Tuojiangosaurus | Natural History Museum (nhm.ac.uk)
- Tuojiangosaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Tuojiangosaurus - Wikidata (wikidata.org)
- Tuojiangosaurus | Earth and Atmospheric Sciences | Research Starters | EBSCOhost (ebsco.com)
- Tuojiangosaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.
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