Fun Beishanlong Facts For Kids

Beishanlong is a genus of the theropod dinosaur within the Deinocheiridae family. This genus is classified within the clade Ornithomimosauria from the Early Cretaceous of China. Three fossils of Beishanlong were found in the early 21st century in the northwestern part of China at the White Ghost Castle site, Province of Gansu. A team of American and Chinese paleontologists described and named the type species online as Beishanlong grandis in 2009 and formally published this in 2010 by the same team consisting of Mark A. Norell, Matthew Lewin, Peter J. Makovicky, Daqing Li, Ke-Qin Gao, and Gregory M. Erickson. The word Beishanlong is a combination of Bei Shan, the North Mountains and the Chinese term 'long', meaning 'dragon'. The specific scientific name 'grandis' is a Latin term meaning 'large', referring to the body size of this species. These dinosaurs lived between the Aptian-Albian stages that were around 120 million years ago. The fossil remains were recovered from the layers of the Xinminpu Group. In 2006, a partial skeleton of the holotype FRDC-GS GJ (06) 01-18 was recovered without a skull.

If these facts were fun to read, then make sure to read some more facts about the Puertasaurus and Orodromeus on Kidadl.

How do you pronounce 'Beishanlong'?

The pronunciation of Beishanlong, named by Mark A. Norell, Matthew Lewin, Peter J. Makovicky, Daqing Li, Ke-Qin Gao, and Gregory M. Erickson, is 'Bay-shan-long'.

What type of dinosaur was a Beishanlong?

Beishanlong (B. grandis) is a large thropod and ornithomimosaur species. This giant ornithomimosaur is more derived compared to the Shenzhousaurus and Pelecanimimus. There were only partial fossil remains recovered of the skeleton of these giant ornithomimosaur dinosaurs. However, these few fragments of theselarge dinosaurs were found in the early 21st century, separately in 1999, 2006, and 2007. This species was named in 2009 by the team. The three holotypes are named FRDC-GS GJ (06) 01-18, FRDC-GS JB (07) 01-01, and IVPP V12756.

In which geological period did the Beishanlong roam the earth?

The Beishanlong (Mark A. Norell, Matthew Lewin, Peter J. Makovicky, Daqing Li, Ke-Qin Gao, and Gregory M. Erickson) is from the Early Cretaceous of China and lived in the northern Gansu Province around 115-100 million years ago. This was between the Aptian-Albian stages.

When did the Beishanlong become extinct?

The Beishanlong (B. grandis) probably became extinct during the mass extinction in the Cretaceous-Paleogene time period around 66 million years ago.

Where did a Beishanlong live?

B. grandis of the Early Cretaceous of China (Aptian-Albian) lived in the northwest part of China at the site of White Ghost Castle in the Gansu Province. Other fossil remains were recovered from the Xinminpu Group.

What was a Beishanlong's habitat?

The range of the Beishanlong's habitat was terrestrial regions around China.

Who did a Beishanlong live with?

Beishanlong grandis (Makovicky, Gao, Li, Norell, Erickson, and Lewin) probably lived in groups consisting of their own kind like all other dinosaurs.

How long did a Beishanlong live?

The data on the maximum or average lifespan of this large Beishanlong, meaning 'northern mountain dragon', is not known. However, research suggests that this holotype was actively growing by the time of this species' death.

How did they reproduce?

The reproduction technique of the Beishanlong grandis was oviparous. There is data available of the research done on the breeding, parental care, and incubation period of these large dinosaurs.

What did a Beishanlong look like?

The size of the Beishanlong (meaning 'Bei Shan dragon') is almost as big as the largest-known Gallimimus. As per the description given by research, the Beishanlong is one of the largest definitive ornithomimosaurs so far to be described, though histological analysis shows that the holotype individual was still growing at its death. The histological research of the fibula bone structure found that there were 13-14 growth lines. This indicates that the remains of the specimen were a subadult, but the growth was already slowed. This species was robust with a long arm. Though they did not have extremely elongated arms, claws, and hands, they had long legs. The broken and single cervical neural arch was similar to the Sinoronithomimus species' fourth cervical. A partial skeletal remain of FRDC-GS GJ (06) 01-18 was found without a skull. Other fossil remains found were hindlimbs, a pair of pubes (FRDC-GS JB (07) 01-01), and foot bones (IVPP V12756).

How many bones did a Beishanlong have?

The exact number of the Beishanlong grandis, the giant ornithomimosaur is not known. Only a few fragments of the fossil remains were recovered (without teeth) and the research was done based on these parts.

How did they communicate?

There is no data available about the communication process of these giant ornithomimosaurs. However, they probably communicated through body language, calls, and songs.

How big was a Beishanlong?

Beishanlong size range is around 26.24 ft (8 m) in length. The fossilized thighbone size was 26 in (66 cm) length. This Bei Shan dragon species is almost half the size in length of the Spinosaurus. The specific scientific name 'grandis' is a Latin term meaning 'large', referring to the body size of this species

How fast could a Beishanlong move?

The data on the running speed of the Beishanlong (meaning 'northern mountain dragon') of the Early Cretaceous period is not known.

How much did a Beishanlong weigh?

The weight of the Beishanlong (Makovicky, 2010) of China (Gansu) is 1,210 lb (550 kg). This species was almost 1000 times heavier than the related Harpymimus.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no specific name given to either male or female Beishanlong (Makovicky, 2010).

What would you call a baby Beishanlong?

There is no particular name given to a baby Beishanlong (Bei Shan dragon, Makovicky, 2010).

What did they eat?

The Beishanlong diet was probably omnivorous, however, the research on their diet is not completely available. Probably like most ornithomimosaurs, their diet might have included small dinosaurs and plants.

How aggressive were they?

The data on the aggressiveness of these northern mountain dragon specimens in China is not available.

Did you know...

The related Garudimimus was noted by Barsbold as the basal for other ornithomimosaurs so, he gave them a separate family Garudimimidae. Lindsay E. Zann and David J. Button performed a large phylogenetic analysis in 2019, which showed that the herbivores of Garudimimus had two modes of feeding. It was concluded that the feeding strategies evolved over time and are not so related to herbivorous species. This genus has only one known species, Garudimimus. Also, the known remains are from the Late Cretaceous time period. It was noted that the skull of this species was smaller than the overall skeleton measuring around 9.8 in (25 cm) long.

Although, this family of Deinnocheiridae is now known as a separate species, however, Roniewicz and Osmolska noted that the features of Deinnocheiridae are very identical to Ornithomimus and separated these two probably on the basis of convergence. None of these species could climb trees.

When was the Beishanlong discovered?

The Beishanlong of the Early Cretaceous of China was first named and described online in 2009 by Mark A. Norell, Matthew Lewin, Peter J. Makovicky, Daqing Li, Ke-Qin Gao, and Gregory M. Erickson

Which dinosaurs lived with the Beishanlong?

Alongside the Beishanlong (Mark A. Norell, Matthew Lewin, Peter J. Makovicky, Daqing Li, Ke-Qin Gao, and Gregory M. Erickson) of the Cretaceous time period, there existed dinosaurs like Tenontosaurus and Deinonychus and most likely Acrocanthosaurus dinosaurs.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! For more relatable content, check out these Rahonavis facts and Ludodactylus facts for kids.

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

Main image by GKNOVA6