恐龍卡第 1800 張，共 2 027 張

Tianyulong

名字的意思： “sky dragon, named after the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature”1

吃：植物有喙的草食恐龍侏羅紀中期到侏羅紀晚期

Tianyulong was a tiny dinosaur covered in fuzzy, feather-like filaments. It lived in what is now China and used its beak to munch on plants. This little dinosaur surprised scientists because it showed that even plant-eaters could have fluffy coats!1 2

生存年代

168 到 152 百萬年前5

侏羅紀中期到侏羅紀晚期

化石發現地

Jianchang County, western Liaoning Province, China1

長度

0.7 m (2.3 ft)1

高度

0.24 m (0.8 ft)

估計值

最高速度

時速約 19 公里（12 英里）

跑步, 估計值

牠生活在什麼時候？

三疊紀

侏羅紀

白堊紀

2 億 5200 萬年前20114566，小行星撞地球

牠有多大？

牠有多長？

牠有多高？

估計值

跟 4 根香蕉頭尾相接一樣長小到能從椅子底下走過去能在 19 秒內跑完 100 公尺（最快的人類要 9.6 秒）

Tianyulong 跟「你」比起來有多大？

只是在你的瀏覽器裡算算數學。什麼都不會被儲存或傳送出去。

牠有多快？

走路的人 時速約 5 公里 (3 mph)

騎腳踏車的小朋友 時速約 12 公里 (7 mph)

Tianyulong 時速約 19 公里 (12 mph)

一匹飛奔的馬 時速約 65 公里 (40 mph)

一隻獵豹 時速約 100 公里 (62 mph)

酷東西

趣味知識

Tianyulong was one of the first ornithischian dinosaurs found with filamentous (fuzzy) structures on its body, similar to the proto-feathers of some theropods.2

The filaments on Tianyulong were long, unbranched, and hollow, reaching about 60 mm (2.4 inches) on its tail.1

Its skull was very large compared to its small neck and body, and its hind legs were much longer than its front legs.1

Tianyulong belonged to a group called heterodontosaurids, which had a pair of enlarged canine-like tusks.1

The only known species is Tianyulong confuciusi, named after the Chinese philosopher Confucius.1

At first scientists thought Tianyulong lived in the Early Cretaceous, but later dating of the rocks showed it was from the Middle Jurassic, about 158.5 million years ago.1

Tianyulong is known from several specimens, but all were collected by private collectors, so their exact location is uncertain.1

Tianyulong 的 AI 繪圖 — 這是電腦根據科學家目前的知識，用 AI 畫出 Tianyulong 可能的樣子。這只是猜測：真正的動物可能長得不一樣，也沒有人知道牠真正的顏色。

你們都在問

關於 Tianyulong 最常被問的問題

?How big was Tianyulong?

About 70 centimetres long, with its tail making up about 44 centimetres of that length. It was about the size of a cat.1 4

?Did Tianyulong have feathers?

It had long, hollow, unbranched filaments on its back, tail and neck that look like primitive feathers, called proto-feathers. Scientists are not sure if these are true feathers or something that evolved separately.1 2

?What did Tianyulong eat?

It was herbivorous or possibly omnivorous, using its beak to munch on plants. It also had a pair of enlarged canine-like tusks.1

?When did Tianyulong live?

It lived during the Middle Jurassic period, about 158.5 million years ago. Scientists first thought it was from the Early Cretaceous, but later dating of the rocks showed it was older.1

?Where was Tianyulong found?

Its fossils were discovered in Jianchang County, Western Liaoning Province, China. All specimens were collected by private collectors, so the exact location is uncertain.1

?Is Tianyulong a dinosaur?

Yes, it is a small ornithischian dinosaur called a heterodontosaurid. It is not a bird or a pterosaur.1

迷思破解王

迷思： Some people think only meat-eating dinosaurs had feathers or fuzzy coats.

真相： Tianyulong shows that plant-eating ornithischian dinosaurs also had filamentous structures, suggesting that fuzzy coverings were common among many dinosaur groups.2

給恐龍專家

學名: Tianyulong
命名者: Zheng et al. 20095
類群: 有喙的草食恐龍
科 / 演化支: Heterodontosauridae5
分類: Ornithischia > Heterodontosauridae5
岩石的年代: 168 到 152 百萬年 (Bathonian / Kimmeridgian)5
岩層: Tiaojishan5
國家: 中國5
化石紀錄: The Paleobiology Database 收錄 1 筆5
發現: Tianyulong was named and described in 2009 by Xiao-Ting Zheng and colleagues, based on a fossil housed at the Shandong Tianyu Museum of Nature in China.1 2
仍有爭議: Scientists still debate whether the filamentous structures on Tianyulong are true proto-feathers or just collagen fibers under the skin.1