Fun Beibeilong Facts For Kids

The word 'beibeilong' is derived from Pinyin, and it roughly translates to 'a baby dragon'. Beibeilong is an extinct Oviraptorosaur theropod belonging to the family Caenagnathidae. The genus Beibeilong comprises just one species, Beibeilong sinensis, which was described by Pu and his colleagues in 2017 after a nest containing a potential embryo called Baby Louie, and several eggs were discovered in the Henan province, of China in 1993. Baby Louie was a well-preserved embryo, and its bone structure, positioning, and size were thoroughly studied by many paleontologists. Baby Louie's parents must have been truly gigantic, far larger than any known Oviraptorosaur species at the time. The Beibeilong is a genus of Oviraptorid dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the earlier stages of the Late Cretaceous.‭ ‬The genus was described from fossilized embryos and eggs. Pu Hanyong, Darla K. Zelenitsky, Philip J. Currie, Kenneth Carpenter, H.L.‭ ‬Chuang,‭ and Eva B. Koppelhus were among the paleontologists who characterized it in 2017. Zhang Fengchen discovered the specimen and dug it up in late 1992 or early 1993 with the help of some other farmers.

If you like reading about this dinosaur, you can also read about the Dracoraptor and Eotyrannus.

How do you pronounce 'Beibeilong'? 

Beibeilong pronunciation is as follows, 'bay-bay-long sin-en-sis'. Its embryo is known as Baby Louie.

What type of dinosaur was a Beibeilong?

The Beibeilong is an Oviraptorosaur theropod from the Caenagnathidae family, comprising enormous Oviraptorosaurs known as mega oviraptors. It was previously assumed to be a Therizinosaur during the first examination in the late '90s, but subsequent comparisons with other caenagnathid skeletons and eggs confirmed the family as Caenagnathidae. The well-preserved fossilized embryos and eggs made classifying the species easy.

Pu Hanyong, Darla K. Zelenitsky, Lu Junchang, Philip J. Currie, K. Carpenter, Xu Li, Eva B. Koppelhus, Jia Songhai, Xiao Le, Chuang Huali, Li Tianran, Martin Kundrat, and Shen Caizhi described the species, Beibeilong sinensis.

In which geological period did the Beibeilong roam the earth?

Fossil remains of perinate dinosaurs and eggs of this giant Caenagnathid dinosaur date back to the Late Cretaceous period.

When did the Beibeilong become extinct?

The Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event, also known as the Cenomanian-Turonian extinction event, caused the extermination of this species. The Cenomanian-Turonian anoxic event, also known as the Bonarelli event, occurred during the late Cretaceous era. The Cenomanian-Turonian event was triggered by a distorted carbon cycle as well as significant disruptions in the ocean's oxygen cycles.

Where did a Beibeilong live? 

A partial skeleton, the embryo (Baby Louie), and six to eight eggs of this animal have been found in China. This demonstrates that their dissemination included this region or area.

What was a Beibeilong' habitat? 

This dinosaur lived near regions that provided it with plenty of food and water such as forests, riversides, floodplains, and swamps.

Who did a Beibeilong live with?

The Beibeilong sinensis embryo (Baby Louie), and eggs were found in a small or medium-sized clutch, leading scientists to believe they were probably social when young and traveled in herds, but lived in pairs or alone as adults.

How long did a Beibeilong live?

Their life span is unknown.

How did they reproduce?

It was a nesting cassowary-like dinosaur, and an adult Beibeilong built a ring-shaped nest and laid around six to eight large eggs in it. Similar to Oviraptorosaurs, these were also deposited in two layers. The remains of the Beibeilong sinensis consist of the best-preserved dinosaur embryo called Baby Louie. When discovered, the embryo was in an adorable position and looked just like modern-day reptiles in their eggs, with its head is tucked into its chest. It was found between other eggs. These eggs are known as 'Macroelongatoolithus eggs'. Looking at how big Baby Louie was in his nest, scientists speculated that its parents were giant beasts!

What did a Beibeilong look like?

Fossil remains and studies conducted on a well-preserved specimen revealed that the Beibeilong sinensis was a large bird-like dinosaur, with feathers, and skulls similar to parrots. It looked like a Gigantoraptor but was smaller and more primitive. Beibeilong is often referred to as the Oviraptorid-like dinosaur for size its enormous size.

How many bones did a Beibeilong have?

The exact number of bones is unknown because only an embryo and fragments of its skeleton have been discovered.

How did they communicate?

Communication among the Beibeilong sinensis is still a mystery but many scientists over past decades have come up with several theories that suggest possible ways these animals communicated, some put forth the theory of vocalizations and that these ferocious beasts engaged in dialogue by producing calls, hoots, cracking sounds, body movements, and symbolic love calls during the mating season.

How big was a Beibeilong? 

The size of the embryo (Baby Louie) made it clear that this species was an enormous Oviraptorosaur-like dinosaur that measured 18 in (38 cm) already!

An adult Beibeilong dinosaur grew up to 26 ft (8 m) in length.

How fast could a Beibeilong move?

The speed rate of this species is unknown.

How much did a Beibeilong weigh?

Baby Louie (the embryo) was already fairly large, and the adults weighed around 2204-2425 lb (1,000-1,100 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

An adult female is called a saura, whereas an adult male is called a saurus.

What would you call a baby Beibeilong?

Since these dinosaurs are hatched from eggs, they are called hatchlings or nestlings. As they bear a close resemblance to birds, a young juvenile could also be referred to as a chick. These dinosaur eggs are also known as Macroelongatoolithus.

A Beibeilong egg is almost the same size as the eggs laid by a giant Caenagnathid dinosaur!

What did they eat? 

The diet of this dinosaur is uncertain. Some scientists speculate that it was a herbivore while some say it was an omnivore. Nevertheless, its diet was primarily made up of plants, leaves, and fruits.

How aggressive were they?

The behavior of these dinosaurs has not been researched well enough to call them aggressive or peaceful.

Did you know...

During the '80s and '90s, adult dinosaur fossil remains and eggs became a 'must-have' for the rich, and that prompted the underground market to grasp gigantic dinosaur eggs found in China's Henan Territory. Dinosaur eggs are somewhat uncommon fossils to begin with, yet the demand from the rich was gave them more importance. A clutch stolen from Henan was extra special because it consisted of a young baby dinosaur curled up in its nest. From the underground black market, the Indianapolis Kids' Historical Center and the specimen being illegally sold to an American company called The Stone Company during mid-1993, Baby Louie and his unhatched nestmates were finally bought home in 2013 to the Henan Geographical Gallery in China. Perinate and eggs of a giant caenagnathid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous were also found in central China.

The Cenomanian–Turonian event represents the highest stand of sea level during the entire Phanerozoic and Cretaceous era.

Zhao Chuang is known for his media work on Baby Louie.

What does Beibeilong mean?

The specific term 'Beibei' from Beibeilong is Pinyin for 'bab'y, as the fossilized embryo was a young baby dinosaur, and the word 'long'means a 'dragon', which is in Chinese cultures is the replacement for the word 'saurus'.

How was the Beibeilong embryo nicknamed?

A National Geographic photographer, Louis Psihoyos, was responsible for documenting the unearthed skeleton. His work was remarkable and to honor him, the embryo and species were nicknamed Baby Louie.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other creatures from our Nipponosaurus facts, or Europasaurus facts for kids pages.

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

Main image by PaleoNeolitic

We've been unable to source an image of Beibeilong and have used an image of an Oviraptor instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Beibeilong, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]