Fun Kelmayisaurus Facts For Kids

The literal translation of the word dinosaur means 'terrible lizards', but we promise this article will be fun! This article is about a special dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period, and it will tell you everything you need to know about it including its history, details about its habitat, classification, when and where it was discovered, its size, weight, length, and behavior!

Kelmayisaurus (Kelmayisaurus petrolicus) is an extinct genus of Carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous and is named after the city it was discovered, Karamay, in the Xinjiang province in Western China. Kelmayisaurus is identified by its complete left dentary and partial left maxilla. The first specimen was found in the Lianmuqin Formation of the Tugulu Group, dating to the Valanginian-Albian stages, around 140–100 million years ago. Dong Zhiming, a Chinese vertebrate paleontologist, named and described it in 1973. Thus, it is often referred to as Kelmayisaurus Dong. Owing to its scanty remains, its phylogenetic position was uncertain and was considered as a nomen nudum. In taxonomy, a nomen nudum is a designation that looks exactly like a scientific name of an organism, but has not been published with an adequate description. Thanks to recent studies and phylogenetic analysis, this enigmatic creature was finally properly classified and placed among its extinct relatives.

Learn about some other prehistoric creatures from our Veterupristisaurus fun facts and Szechuanosaurus fun facts for kids pages.

How do you pronounce 'Kelmayisaurus'? 

The word Kelmayisaurus is pronounced 'Kel-may-e-sau-rus'.

What type of dinosaur was a Kelmayisaurus?

Kelmayisaurus is a Therapod dinosaur. It is a genus of Carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs that lived in China during the Early Cretaceous.‭ ‬Kelmayisaurus is currently only known by the partial upper and lower jaw.

In which geological period did the Kelmayisaurus roam the earth?

Kelmayisaurus is a large theropod dinosaur that lived in China during the early Cretaceous 122.4- 100.5 million years ago!

When did the Kelmayisaurus become extinct?

These dinosaurs lived during the Early Cretaceous period in China and went extinct during the K-T mass extinction nearly 65 million years ago.

Where did a Kelmayisaurus live? 

The remains of Kelmayisaurus were found at Wuerho, which is in an Aptian, or Albian terrestrial sandstone in the Lianmugin Formation of China. The fossils found consisted of a partial skull, left maxilla, and dentary bones. The size of its remains would make Kelmayisaurus gigantus by far the largest known theropod, however, it has yet to be officially given that title.

What was a Kelmayisaurus' habitat? 

This species of Theropod dinosaur inhabited areas where requirements for their necessities were met: swamps, forests, floodplains, riversides, and other similar places. These places proved to be the perfect hunting grounds for these carnivorous dinosaurs.

Who did a Kelmayisaurus live with?

These dinosaurs are carnivores and preferred living alone to avoid any competition while foraging or hunting. However, some paleontologists believe that they lived in pairs or small groups.

How long did a Kelmayisaurus live?

The life span of this Theropod dinosaur is unknown. However, Therapods, in general, were believed to have a life span of 26-32 years.

How did they reproduce?

They reproduced via sexual reproduction. Males would deposit their sperm inside females, who would later lay fertilized eggs containing developing dinosaur embryos. They built nests by digging burrows in the soil and laid giant eggs which had a hard layered shell. The eggs were usually amniotic, meaning the fetus was covered by a membrane which helped in its protection as well as supplying oxygen and other nutrients to the fetus.

What did a Kelmayisaurus look like?

They are identified by the lack of a chin-like structure on their lower jaw and various other features. The fossils found in China consisted of a partial left maxilla and partial left mandible‭, and bones of the lower jaw‭‬. Kelmayisaurus can also be identified or separated by the shape and presence of a prominent accessory groove present on the lateral side of the dentary, and the main tooth-bearing bone present in the lower jaw. Some of its features are similar to Carcharodontosaurians, and giant Megalosauroids.

How many bones did a Kelmayisaurus have?

The exact number of bones present in its body is unknown as most fossils recovered are missing certain parts, but given that they were quite tall and long, the average number of bones should be around 200.

How did they communicate?

Scientists believe that these dinosaurs communicated with one another via visual displays and vocalizations.

How big was a Kelmayisaurus? 

This giant creature was roughly 33–39 ft (10–12 m) in length, and some believe that it may be the largest Theropod species.

How fast could a Kelmayisaurus move?

The speed of this species is unknown. But they are known to be quite fast as they were predatory and great hunters.

How much did a Kelmayisaurus weigh?

It was a heavy-bodied dinosaur with a monstrous weight of 14,000-18,000 lb (6,350.2-8,164.6 kg)!

What were the male and female names of the species?

The female species are called Saura, whereas males are called Saurus.

What would you call a baby Kelmayisaurus?

Since these dinosaurs are hatched from eggs, they are called hatchlings or nestlings, and since, they bear a close resemblance to birds a young juvenile could be referred to as a chick.

What did they eat? 

These dinosaurs were fierce predators and preyed upon smaller dinosaurs, fish, and sometimes even engaged in cannibalism after a fight.

How aggressive were they?

They were quite aggressive and competitive with other species.

Did you know...

A supposed second species, Kelmayisaurus gigantus or Kelmayisaurus giganteus, was mentioned in a popular book as having a 69 ft (21 m) long vertebral column and was from the Middle Jurassic Shishugou Formation.

Kelmayisaurus Dong was mentioned in 'The Dinosaur Project: The Story of the Greatest Dinosaur Expedition Ever Mounted', a book by Wayne Grady (a Canadian writer, editor, and translator), and was listed or classified as the largest Theropod dinosaur species discovered. Rumor has it that Wayne Grady found this information in Dale Russell's (an American-Canadian geologist and paleontologist) notebooks on dinosaurs from the area in which they were discovered.

Paleontologists from China state that there are other Carcharodontosaurids waiting to be found in locations near the Lianmugin Formation.

Why are they called 'Kelmayisaurus'?

They owe their generic name Kelmayisaurus to their lower jaw and other dentary bones.

Kelmayisaurus vs. T-Rex

Well, of course, a T-Rex would win this fight as it is the fiercest predator to ever have existed, with sharp claws, teeth, and hard skin.

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 Paronychodon fun facts or Linheraptor facts for kids pages.

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

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