Fun Huaxiaosaurus Facts For Kids

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens, or Shantungosaurus giganteus, belonged to the genus of the large saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group of the Shandong Province Peninsula of Zhao in China. This giant Chinese creature could be classified as a sauropod. The habitat of the hadrosaur Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens primarily consisted of deserts and forests. This species had a large herbivorous appetite and ate a combination of leaves, twigs, and seeds. Most large dinosaurs were considered to be slow movers primarily due to their weight and flat feet. Since these dinosaurs fall under this category, they too were slow movers.

If you love learning about dinosaurs and are looking for more interesting content about different dinosaurs from history, why not check out these Austroraptor facts and Incisivosaurus facts for kids too?

How do you pronounce 'Huaxiaosaurus'?

The name Huaxiaosaurus is pronounced 'ha-axia-saurus'.

What type of dinosaur was a Huaxiaosaurus?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens, or Shantungosaurus giganteus, belonged to the genus of the large saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaurs found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group of the Shandong Province Peninsula of Zhao in China. This Chinese creature can be classified as a sauropod.

In which geological period did the Huaxiaosaurus roam the earth?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens roamed the earth during the Mesozoic Era. This era was the second of earth's three major geological eras of Phanerozoic time, alongside the Late Cretaceous group era. Its name is derived from the Greek term for 'middle life.' The Mesozoic Era began 252.2 million years ago, and ended 66 million years ago, at the dawn of the Cenozoic Era.

When did the Huaxiaosaurus become extinct?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens became extinct approximately 65 million years ago.

Where did the Huaxiaosaurus live?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens was found in deserts and tropical forests with plenty of growth. These two habitats may seem quite different, but there is a reason that this dinosaur lived in both deserts and tropical forests. To satisfy the need for a large amount of food and water, these Chinese dinosaurs migrated through deserts to forest areas for food, water, and safety.

What was the Huaxiaosaurus' habitat?

The habitat of the Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens primarily consisted of deserts and forests. This species originated in China and belonged to the genus of the large saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaurs found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group of the Shandong Province of Zhao in China. This species had a large appetite and primarily depended on consuming plenty of water and a combination of leaves, twigs, and seeds. This creature can be classified as a sauropod.

Who did the Huaxiaosaurus live with?

Not much information about the social life of these Cretaceous dinosaurs is known. However, their gigantic fossil remains were discovered amongst fossil remains of a similar kind, so it is safe to assume that they probably lived in a group of three or four dinosaurs, rather than living alone. This is not known for certain yet though.

How long did a Huaxiaosaurus live?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens existed from the Campanian Age to 72.1 million years ago. They lived a long life but they are now extinct (like all dinosaurs) due to uncertain natural disasters that occurred in the world.

How did they reproduce?

The exact reproduction process of this species is not known, but it is known that this dinosaur was an egg-laying species. They laid an average of 100 eggs. A new study has discovered over 70 species that were capable of nesting at very high altitudes and has listed the Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens as one of these species.

What did a Huaxiaosaurus look like?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens is classified as one of the largest known Shantungosaurus giants. Its features include a gigantic skull that is 5.3 ft (1.6 m) long. The composite skeleton mounted at the Geological Institute of China measures 48 ft (14.6 m) in length. Like most hadrosaurs, the beak of the Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens was completely toothless. The average Huaxiaosaurus body height was approximately 54.5 ft (16.6 m) and it was near to 36.1 ft (11 m) in length. Its features include a long tail which helped it retain its balance while reaching out to leaves at high levels. These animals also had pneumatic vertebrae.

How many bones did a Huaxiaosaurus have?

The exact number of bones that the Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens skeleton had is not currently known. More research into this dinosaur species is needed in order to find out the exact number of bones it had.

How did they communicate?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens may have used vocal and visual forms of communication. The exact mode of communication that took place between these dinosaurs is not yet known to man.

How big was a Huaxiaosaurus?

The Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens can be described as one of the largest dinosaurs of the Shantungosaurus family. This species was approximately 54.5 ft (16.6 m) in height and around 36.1 ft (11 m) in length.

How fast could a Huaxiaosaurus move?

Most large dinosaurs were considered to be slow movers due to their weight and flat feet. Since these dinosaurs fall under this category, they too were slow movers. The exact speed that these dinosaurs moved at is not know, but it can be assumed that they were slow.

How much did a Huaxiaosaurus weigh?

This species weighed 17.6 tons (16 met tonnes). Research has shown that they were one of the largest and heaviest dinosaurs that belonged to the Shantungosaurus family.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There are no gender-specific names that are given to male or female dinosaurs of this species.

What would you call a baby Huaxiaosaurus?

Dinosaurs are hatched from eggs, therefore new baby dinosaurs can be called hatchlings, just like other reptiles like turtles and crocodiles.

What did they eat?

Research has shown that, similar to other hadrosaurs, the diet of this giant dinosaur consisted of a range of leaves, twigs, and seeds.

How aggressive were they?

These dinosaurs are gentle giants. These animals are herbivores and did not harm any other species of dinosaurs.

Did you know...

The Zhuchengosaurus is another famous species and they belonged to the same region as the Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens.

The Edmontosaurus is another species of dinosaur whose description is very similar to that of the Huaxiaosaurus aigahtens.

The Huaxiaosaurus had many tiny teeth to help it bite into its plant food and chew this food.

Why are they called Huaxiaosaurus?

These dinosaurs are called Huaxiaosaurus because they have one of the largest bird hip bones.

Would Huaxiaosaurus bite?

This species did bite but only into plants and other types of greens and seeds.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other dinosaurs from our Huehuecanauhtlus interesting facts and Heterodontosaurus facts for kids pages.

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

The main image is by Nobu Tamura.

The second image is by IJReid.