Fun Amurosaurus Facts For Kids

The dinosaur was named by Yuri Bolotsky and Sergei Kurzanov in the year 1991. The remains of the dinosaur were found near the Amur region hence giving it the name Amurosaurus.

Amurosaurus is based on partial remains found in a bonebed of multiple dinosaurs, which indicates that there must be more remains for the dinosaur somewhere.

Studying the fossil remains for the dinosaur, it was described as a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid dinosaur known for its hollow crest, similar to the Corythosaurus of North America.

Amurosaurus was the proof of a lambeosaurine hadrosaurid living in Asia near the end of the Cretaceous period, when the same species was getting extinct from North America, except for the solid to no crested saurolophine hadrosaurid. This proves the theory that the lambeosaurines evolved in Asia and then crossed over to North America via a land bridge.

For more relatable content, check out these Draconyx facts and Xenotarsosaurus facts for kids.

Amurosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Amurosaurus'?

The name of this theropod dinosaur, Amurosaurus riabinini is pronounced as 'A-mur-o-sore-us.'

What type of dinosaur was an Amurosaurus?

Amurosaurus riabinini, genus Amurosaurus, is a genus of lambeosaurine hadrosaurid dinosaur that was found in the Cretaceous period in far eastern Russia.

In which geological period did the Amurosaurus roam the Earth?

According to the remains of the family of this duck-billed dinosaur, they are estimated to have been living in the world during the Late Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous period, approximately 66 million years ago.

When did Amurosaurus become extinct?

According to their fossil discovery, it has been approximated that Amurosaurus' last recorded appearance was around 66 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous period.

Where did Amurosaurus live?

According to the discovery of Amurosaurus riabinni fossils, unless otherwise noted, it has been concluded that the species must have lived in what would range in the present-day-Russia‭ in ‬Udurchukan Formation. It is also the best-attested dinosaur ever discovered in Russia. The fossils for the dinosaur, however, were unearthed near the eastern border of the country with China.

What was the Amurosaurus' habitat?

The Amurosauruses are believed to have lived in a terrestrial habitat in the woodlands of far eastern Russia. According to many studies done on dinosaur species, it has been found that most dinosaurs preferred living along ancient rivers and streams.

They would roam in densely vegetated swamps and lakes and also in the forested floodplains.

On the other hand, the Cretaceous period is known for a relatively warm climate that resulted in high eustatic sea levels, creating numerous shallow inland seas. These water bodies were populated with marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, which are all extinct now.

Who did Amurosaurus live with?

Amurosaurus riabinini lived during the Late Cretaceous period with other dinosaur species like Adasaurus, Alioramus, Amtosaurus, Ansermimus, Aralosaurus, Archarornithoides, Arstanosaurus, Bactrosaurus, Bagaceratops, Barsboldia, Borogovia, and others, who possibly lived in the same region as them.

How long did Amurosaurus live?

The Amurosaurus riabinini dinosaurs are believed to have lived during the Late Cretaceous period, approximately from the Maastrichtian Age to 66 million years ago.

How did they reproduce?

The reproduction of this theropod from the Late Cretaceous period, Amurosaurus riabinini, is believed to be oviparous. This means that they are believed to reproduce by laying eggs. 

Amurosaurus Fun Facts

What did Amurosaurus look like?

Given that the Amurosaurus was a lambeosaur, it is believed that it must have been a herbivore with the famous 'duck bill' shaped snout and a hollow crest on top of its head.

However, there has been no evidence of such a crest so far, but since the bones of the roof of their skull are modified, this is the conclusion scientists came to.

Fossil bones for adults have been rarely found, but it is believed that an adult would have been at least 26.2 ft (8 m) long.

The classification for the dinosaur is usually done through many autapomorphies or unique characteristics of the skull and the sigmoidal shape of the ulna, also known as the lower arm bone.

How many bones did an Amurosaurus have?

The remains of the species were mainly preserved in a bone bed of remains. The original specimen of this dinosaur consists of only a maxilla or upper jaw bone and a dentary or lower jaw bone.

Both these bones are from the left side of the creature. In addition to this, in the bonebed, most of the bones from their skull and skeleton have also been preserved, although the bonebed had remains of many different animals.

The well-preserved and described material for Amurosaurus makes it the most abundant and completely known Russian dinosaur. The bones that were found for the dinosaur also had many theropod teeth marks on them.

How did they communicate?

It is unknown how exactly these theropods communicated with each other or the dinosaurs of different species.

But in the review of prehistoric animal sounds, Philip J. Senter, an American paleontologist and a professor of Zoology at Fayetteville State University, very popularly known for his researches focusing on dinosaur paleobiology, believed that the dinosaurs used to communicate by hissing, clapping their jaws together, grinding mandibles against upper jaws, rubbing scales together and by the use of environmental materials like splashing against water.

It is also believed that the dinosaurs communicated visually and vocally. These two modes of communication would have been most used during courtship behavior, territory fights, defensive posturing, etc.

According to the same assumption, it is believed that the head crest of some species like Corythosaurus and Parasaurolophus was used to amplify grunts or bellow.

How big was Amurosaurus?

The exact measurements regarding Amurosaurus' height and length are unknown; however, the Amurosaurus' size is estimated to be about 26.2 ft (8 m) long.

How fast could an Amurosaurus move?

Amurosaurus from the clade Dinosauria is supposed to be quadrupedal. These dinosaurs were also facultative bipedal which means that it was most likely to run on two legs and similarly sat on two legs to reach higher vegetation but also use four legs sometimes.

How much did an Amurosaurus weigh?

This dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period, according to the classification of the specimen collected, is estimated to have weighed around 4,409.2-6,613.9 lb (2,000-3,000 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The female and male Amurosaurus riabinini dinosaurs are not given any different names.

What would you call a baby Amurosaurus?

Since the Amurosaurus riabinini reproduces by laying eggs and the new ones are born when the eggs hatch, the baby Amurosaurus or the juveniles can be called hatchling or nestling. This generalized term can be used for all the dinosaurs since they were all hatched from eggs.

In the case of theropods, dinosaurs that resemble birds, a baby theropod can also be referred to as a chick.

What did they eat?

The Amurosaurus' diet consisted of strict herbivore food material. Amurosaurus' food consisted of many plants and vegetation found in the Late Cretaceous period, for example, Podocarpus, Betulaceae (like Alnus), Araliaceae (like Aralia), conifers (like Araucarioxylon, Metasequoia, and Pinus), Corneaceae (like Cornus), Cycadeodias (like Cycadeoidea), Fagaceae (like Quercus - oak).

How aggressive were they?

Since this dinosaur had a strict herbivore diet, it is safe to assume that this duck-billed dinosaur must not have been very aggressive.

Did you know...

The bonebed found with the fossils of Amurosaurus also had remains of another hadrosaurid - Kerberosaurus. These bones found in the bonebed also had tooth marks of other theropod dinosaurs; even though it is not clear if the marks mean that the dinosaurs were killed or scavenged by meat-eating predators, it is considered as evidence of feeding.

There is another hadrosaurid that was discovered near the Amur River, Charonosaurus, which is considered to be a dinosaur from China. It is also believed that the tyrannosaurus from Asia, like Tarbosaurus, must have been one of the predators of Amurosaurus.

Why are they called Amurosaurus?

The Amur River, or as called in China, Heilong Jiang or Black Dragon River, forms the border of far eastern Russia and China, where the dinosaur remains were found.

The generic name for the dinosaur, Amurosaurus, is derived from the Amur River and the Greek word saurus, which means lizard.

The specific name of the only known species, Amurosaurus riabinini, was named in honor of the late Russian paleontologist Anatoly Riabinin who was the first Russian to conduct the expeditions to recover the remains of this dinosaur from the Amur region in 1916 and 1917.

Who discovered the Amurosaurus?

The dinosaur Amurosaurus was discovered first by the late Russian paleontologist Anatoly Riabinin in 1916 and 1917. The species was later described by Yuri Bolotsky and Sergei Kurzanov in 1991, making it the most abundant and well-described Russian dinosaur.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other dinosaurs from our Aralosaurus interesting facts and Prosaurolophus surprising facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Amurosaurus coloring pages.