Fun Jingshanosaurus Facts For Kids

Jingshanosaurus, meaning Jingshan lizard, is a genus of prosauropod dinosaurs that existed during the Hettangian stage of the early Jurassic period, approximately 201 million years ago - 199 million years ago. It belongs to the clades Dinosauria, Saurischia, and Sauropodomorph. It was named by ‬Zhang and Yang ‬in 1994.

The fossils found of the dinosaur species Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis include a skull and a full skeleton. These fossils were excavated from Jingshan in Lufeng County, Yunnan Province, China. This Chinese genus consists of only one species, Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis, and is considered to be the last species of prosauropods dinosaurs. The habitat of this dinosaur was the woodlands of China and it was a herbivore. It had a height of 36 ft (11 m) and a weight of 5,511.5 lb (2,500 kg). The skeleton of the Jingshanosaurus can be seen at the Beijing Museum of Natural History. 

Keep reading to discover thrilling facts about the Jingshanosaurus' history, skeleton, species, size, fossil remains, and much more! If you enjoy reading our Jingshanosaurus facts, you must check out our roar-some Tanycolagreus facts for kids and several Luanchuanraptor interesting facts!

How do you pronounce 'Jingshanosaurus'?

Jingshanosaurus is pronounced 'jing-shan-o-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Jingshanosaurus?

The Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis is a genus of Chinese prosauropod dinosaur that belongs to the clade Dinosauria, Saurischia, and Sauropodomorph.

In which geological period did the Jingshanosaurus roam the earth?

The Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis existed on Earth during the Hettangian stage of the early Jurassic period, roughly 201 million years ago - 199 million years ago. It was named by ‬Zhang and Yang ‬in 1994.

When did the Jingshanosaurus become extinct?

These Chinese dinosaurs are believed to have become extinct 201 million years ago approximately.

Where did a Jingshanosaurus live?

The Jingshanosaurus is a genus of Sauropodomorph dinosaurs that lived in China in the Early Jurassic period.‭ The skeleton fossils of the species Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis were found in ‬Jingshan in Lufeng county,‭ Yunnan Province, China. The fossil remains are housed in the Beijing Museum of Natural History.

What was a Jingshanosaurus’s habitat?

The Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis is known to have been a terrestrial dinosaur that lived in China. Dinosaurs such as Tianchisaurus and Jinfengopteryx also inhabited a similar habitat.

Who did a Jingshanosaurus live with?

Prosauropods such as Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis lived and traveled in groups. Living in groups provided them protection from getting preyed upon by other dinosaurs. This characteristic is common in present-day large mammals. They are assumed to have been quite gregarious as the range of prosauropods is known to be large. Other dinosaurs that are known to have co-existed with Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis during the Early Jurassic period are Draconyx, Massospondylus, and Ornithocheirus. This creature is of the clade Dinosauria, Saurischia, and Sauropodomorph.

How long did a Jingshanosaurus live?

It is assumed that these animals had a lifespan of not more than 100 years.

How did they reproduce?

These early-Jurassic Chinese dinosaurs reproduced through eggs. It is known that they laid their eggs in tall vegetation. It is also known that these eggs were guarded communally. After hatching, the hatchlings are believed to have grown quickly.

What did a Jingshanosaurus look like?

This Early-Jurassic period dinosaur, Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis, is known from a skull and a full skeleton. The skeleton can be seen at the Beijing Museum of Natural History. The skull of this species found in ‬Jingshan is quite long and narrow like other sauropodomorphs. There are 39-40 teeth in the skull of the Jingshanosaurus. Its lower and upper jaws slide past each other and form a cutting edge to slice leaves and twigs. The hind limbs of this dinosaur are twice the length of the forelimbs. Their forelimbs had hoof-like structures that helped to collect food. These dinosaurs had heavy limbs and small heads. They could attain a length of 36 ft (11 m) and the length of their tail typically made up around half of their full length.

How many bones did a Jingshanosaurus have?

The total number of bones of these Early-Jurassic period dinosaurs is not known. However, we do know that the skull had a total of 14 bones, and a skeleton can be seen at the Beijing Museum of Natural History. Its long and narrow skull possessed 39-40 teeth!

How did they communicate?

It is not known how these Early-Jurassic period dinosaurs found in ‬Jingshan communicated with each other. However, scientists believe that they communicated through low-frequency sounds.

How big was a Jingshanosaurus?

It is estimated that the Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis reached a length of 36 ft (11 m).

How fast could a Jingshanosaurus move?

The exact speed of these Early-Jurassic period dinosaurs found in ‬Jingshan is not known. However, we do know that prosauropods are assumed to have been quite slow with an average speed of 3.1 mph (5 kph) which is a human's average walking speed.

How much did a Jingshanosaurus weigh?

The Jingshanosuaur found in ‬Jingshan is believed to have weighed up to 5511.5 lb (2,500 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

The suffix of the term dinosaur is saurus for males and saura for females.

What would you call a baby Jingshanosaurus?

The baby of species of the Jingshanosaurus genus can be referred to as a hatchling or juvenile.

What did they eat?

The Jingshanosaurus was a herbivore and fed upon plants. Prosauropods had muscular legs that helped them feed upon tall vegetation by standing on their two hind feet. These Early-Jurassic period dinosaurs found in ‬Jingshan had a unique teeth structure that suggests that they had a herbivorous diet. It is also assumed that they could not chew with their teeth but had gastric mills in their stomach to make up for the lack of chewing. These gastric mills ripped and ground the food. However, the gastric mills did not help them much, causing them to become inefficient herbivores, leading to their extinction.

How aggressive were they?

These animals of the Early-Jurassic period are assumed to not be very aggressive as they only fed upon plant material. However, they were quite powerful given the size and body structure estimated from their skeleton fossil remains.

Did you know...

It is known that there are 12 prosauropod genera!

Melanorosaurus is believed to have been the largest prosauropod that existed during the Triassic period!

The name of the Yunnanosaurus originates from the Greek term for 'Yunnan lizard'!

The skull of a Jingshanosaurus had a total of 14 bones!

A Jingshanosaurus skeleton can be seen at the Beijing Museum of Natural History.

The Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis is a genus of Chinese prosauropod dinosaur that belongs to the clade Dinosauria, Saurischia, and Sauropodomorph.

Is Jingshanosaurus a sauropod?

No, the Jingshanosaurus is a prosauropod and not a sauropod.

What does Jingshanosaurus mean?

The name Jingshanosaurus was named after the place this dinosaur was discovered and means Jingshan lizard. It was named by ‬Zhang and Yang ‬in 1994.

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 Sphaerotholus fun facts and Atlascopcosaurus interesting facts for kids.

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

Main image by Conty.

Second image by Paleocolour.