Yuxisaurus
Yuxisaurus was an early armoured dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Early Jurassic. It was a sturdy, slow-moving plant-eater covered in sharp spines and bony plates. This dinosaur helps scientists understand how famous armoured dinosaurs like Stegosaurus and Ankylosaurus evolved.1
When did it live?
How big was it?
How long was it?
How tall was it?
at the hips
How heavy was it?
How big was Yuxisaurus compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
Fun facts
Yuxisaurus is the first valid armoured dinosaur ever described from the Early Jurassic of Asia.2
Its body was covered with more than 120 bony plates called osteoderms, which acted like a suit of armour.1
Unlike many early armoured dinosaurs that walked on two legs, Yuxisaurus was a heavy quadruped, walking on all fours.2
Yuxisaurus lived alongside long-necked plant-eating dinosaurs called sauropodomorphs, but it was much rarer in its ecosystem.2
The fossils of Yuxisaurus were found in rocks that were once part of a low-lying, well-watered coastal environment.2
Yuxisaurus shows that armoured dinosaurs spread across the northern hemisphere very early in their evolutionary history.1
Most asked questions about Yuxisaurus
?How big was Yuxisaurus?
It was a medium-sized armored dinosaur, but scientists have not yet given a precise length or weight estimate.2
?What did Yuxisaurus eat?
It was a plant-eater. Scientists think it was an obligate herbivore, meaning it ate only plants.2
?Did Yuxisaurus have armor?
Yes, its body was covered with more than 120 bony plates called osteoderms, which acted like a suit of armor.32
?When did Yuxisaurus live?
It lived during the Early Jurassic Period, about 190 to 180 million years ago.3
Ask Rex about Yuxisaurus
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
- Yuxisaurus
- Named by
- Yao et al. 20224
- Group
- Armoured dinos
- Family / clade
- Thyreophoroidea4
- Classification
- Ornithischia > Thyreophora4
- Age of the rocks
- 193 to 184 million years (Pliensbachian)4
- Rock formations
- Fengjiahe4
- Countries
- China4
- Fossil records
- 1 in the Paleobiology Database4
- Discovery
- Yuxisaurus was named in 2022 by Yao and colleagues based on a partial skeleton found near Jiaojiadian village in Yunnan, China. The species name kopchicki honours a person named Kopchick.2
- Still debated
- Scientists are not sure whether Yuxisaurus was more closely related to the European armoured dinosaur Emausaurus or to the group that includes Scelidosaurus and later armoured dinosaurs.2
Where the facts come from
- A new early branching armored dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of southwestern China (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- A new early branching armored dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of southwestern China (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
- Yuxisaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
- Yuxisaurus 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
Ankylosaurus
Sauropelta
Pinacosaurus
Scutellosaurus
Struthiosaurus
Euoplocephalus
Dilophosaurus
Stenopterygius
Dorygnathus
Lufengosaurus
Yunnanosaurus
Sinosaurus