Zhanghenglong

Say it: ZHANG-heng-long

Name means: “Zhang Heng's dragon, named after the famous Chinese scientist Zhang Heng”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersLate Cretaceous

Zhanghenglong was a plant-eating dinosaur that lived about 85 million years ago in what is now China. It had a beak and lots of teeth for chewing tough plants. It was a medium-sized dinosaur that walked on two or four legs.1 3

Lived

86 to 84 million years ago3

Late Cretaceous

Fossils found in

Fossils were found in the Majiacun Formation in Henan Province, China.1 2

Food

Plants3 2

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

cool stuff

Fun facts

Zhanghenglong had five holes in its upper jaw, four small ones in a row and one big one near the cheek bone. This is a mix of features seen in older and newer duck-billed dinosaurs.2

Its teeth had two ridges, one in the middle and one off to the side. This is a transitional feature between early and later hadrosauroids.2

The lower jaw had 26 tooth positions, and each position could have up to four teeth stacked up. That means it had a lot of spare teeth for chewing.2

Zhanghenglong is named after Zhang Heng, a famous Chinese astronomer and inventor from about 1,800 years ago. The name also includes 'long', which means dragon in Chinese.1

The fossils were found near a village called Zhoujiagou, not far from a dinosaur relics park in Xixia County.2

Scientists think Zhanghenglong was a close relative of the true duck-billed dinosaurs, and it may help show that duck-billed dinosaurs came from Asia.2

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

?What did Zhanghenglong eat?

Zhanghenglong was a plant-eater. It had a beak and many teeth for chewing tough plants.1

?How big was Zhanghenglong?

Zhanghenglong was a medium-sized dinosaur, but its exact size is not known from the fossils found.1

?When did Zhanghenglong live?

Zhanghenglong lived about 85 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous period.1

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For dino experts

Scientific name: Zhanghenglong
Named by: Xing et al. 20143
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Hadrosauroidea3
Classification: Ornithischia > Ornithopoda > Iguanodontia3
Age of the rocks: 86 to 84 million years (Santonian)3
Rock formations: Majiacun3
Countries: China3
Fossil records: 1 in the Paleobiology Database3
Discovery: Zhanghenglong was named in 2014 by a team of scientists led by Xing Hai. The fossils were found in the Majiacun Formation in Henan Province, China.1
Still debated: Scientists are still debating exactly where Zhanghenglong sits on the family tree. Some think it was very close to true duck-billed dinosaurs, but others think it was a bit more primitive.2

Where the facts come from

Zhanghenglong (en.wikipedia.org)
A New Basal Hadrosauroid Dinosaur (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) with Transitional Features from the Late Cretaceous of Henan Province, China | PLOS One (journals.plos.org)
Zhanghenglong 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.

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