Fun Lanzhousaurus Facts For Kids

When we talk about dinosaurs, we mostly considered the large and dangerous carnivore T. rex, but there also existed the Lanzhousaurus from the genus of herbivore Ornithopoda and clade Dinosauria. The name means 'Lanzhou lizard'.

Lanzhousaurus magnidens fossils from the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous were discovered by the Hekou group from the Gansu region, which is now in China. It was later described in 2005 by You Ji and Li.

Although only a partial skeleton was discovered from the site, they are considered to be the dinosaur with the largest teeth among all the herbivore creatures. The tooth enamel grew very rapidly and it was measured to be 5.5 in (14 cm) in length.

They were 32.8 ft (10 m) long and weighed 13227.7 lb (6000 kg).

They were large-sized. These dinosaurs lived in terrestrial grasslands, forests covered with enough vegetation, and strictly fed on leaves, fruits, and twigs.

It is believed that they had strong beaks and did not have teeth in the front jaw, which would help them when cropping vegetation. Their surprisingly huge teeth made them distinct from Iguanodontian dinosaurs.

For more relatable content, check out these Sauropelta facts and Harpactognathus facts for kids.

Lanzhousaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Lanzhousaurus'?

To pronounce the word Lanzhousaurus, the phonetic must be 'Lan-zoo-sor-us'. It helps to break the big word into four small words.

What type of dinosaur was a Lanzhousaurus?

‬Lanzhousaurus magnidens is a herbivore ornithopod dinosaur of class Reptilia and clade Dinosauria. They are considered to be the largest toothed herbivorous dinosaur to have existed.

In which geological period did the Lanzhousaurus roam the Earth?

The Lanzhousaurus lived on Earth at the Barremian stage during the Early Cretaceous period, which was 129.4 million years ago to 125 million years ago.

When did the Lanzhousaurus become extinct?

The Lanzhousaurus magnidens gen.‭ ‬et sp.‭ ‬nov.‭ ‬from Gansu Province,‭ ‬China, the largest toothed herbivorous dinosaur, became extinct at the end of the Barremian Age during the Early Cretaceous period, approximately 125 million years ago. Geological evidence indicates that a large celestial object collide with the earth's surface.

This caused a worldwide change in the ecosystem causing natural calamities, wiping the era of dinosaurs from the world.

Where did a Lanzhousaurus live?

The fossils classification of Lanzhousaurus from the Early Cretaceous were recovered by the Hekou group in the Lanzhou Basin in the Gansu province, China. They are thought to have lived there in the past.

What was a Lanzhousaurus' habitat?

This dinosaur, Lanzhousaurus magnidens, had a terrestrial habitat consisting of the ancient grassland region of uplands and lowlands with distribution of depositional environment, with adequate ground vegetation available.

Who did a Lanzhousaurus live with?

Lanzhousaurus dionsaurs were peaceful in nature and they co-existed with other dinosaurs like the Barilium, Batyrosaurus, Bayannurosaurus, Cumnoria, Fukuisaurus, Lurdusaurus, Magnamanus, and Hippodraco.

How long did a Lanzahousaurus live?

There is no clear report of the lifespan of Lanzhousaurus magnidens. This species was wiped from the planet at the end of the Early Cretaceous period.

How did they reproduce?

There is not much knowledge available about the reproduction of ornithopod dinosaurs, unlike other species of Dinosauria clade. It is believed that once Lanzhousaurus magnidens dionsaurs had finished mating , the females would lay their eggs in cup-shaped nests or mudded burrows.

There is no evidence about the number of eggs, the process of mating, or the incubation period of the eggs. Although, we can assume that these dinosaurs did not incubate their eggs by sitting on them as they were too large in size.

Lanzhousaurus Fun Facts

What did a Lanzhousaurus look like?

Lanhousaurus dinosaurs were large-sized almost 32.8 ft (10 m) in length and recognized in China as the largest toothed herbivore dinosaur in the world. As only a partial skeleton of the Lanzahousaurus has been recovered, there are not many details to describe their looks, except the dental morphology.

They had short forelimbs, feet resembling birds, only larger and stronger. There were possibilities that they had cheek pouches for processing food and strong beaks for cropping vegetation.

How many bones did a Lanzhousaurus have?

The Lanzahousaurus fossils recovered by the Hekou group were only a partial skeleton and there is no report on the number of bones when they were alive.

How did they communicate?

As dinosaurs were considered intelligent species, some scientists believe that these creatures engaged in dialogue. They communicated using grunts and hoots, also cracking sounds and by clapping their jaws.

How big was a Lanzhousaurus?

From the fossil specimens of Lanzhousaurus of the genus Ornithopod, their length can be estimated to be 32.8 ft (10 m) in length, although it is believed that they might have been longer as only a partial part of their skeleton has been discovered. They were larger than Asian elephants and three times smaller than a blue whales.

How fast could a Lanzhousaurus move?

As the Lanzahousaurus had a large size and were bulky dinosaurs in the genus Ornithopod, they had slow ground movement and they browsed for food mostly on the ground and on tree twigs.

How much did a Lanzhousaurus weigh?

The average Lanzhousaurus magnidens weight was estimated to be 13227.7 lb (6000 kg). They were heavy and large in size.

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no name assigned to the male and female species of Lanzhousaurus. Although the dinosaur gender classification includes the males are Saurus and the females as Saura.

What would you call a baby Lanzhousaurus?

After hatching from the eggs, Lanzhousaurus dinosaur babies are called hatchlings, just like modern-day reptiles like crocodiles and turtles.

What did they eat?

The Lanzhousaurus had a diet of fruits, twigs, leaves, and other plant material. They fed mostly on the ground and sometimes on the leaves on tree twigs.

Some research concludes that they used a repetitive movement of their jaws over and over again. Their diet mostly included leaves and lacked heavy items like twigs and branches. They are known as the largest plant-eating animal ever and are believed to have fed in herds.

How aggressive were they?

This dinosaur, Lanzhousaurus, was peaceful in nature. As they were herbivores, they diet consisted of vegetation and they did not hunt for meat. We can conclude that they were not aggressive. Also due to their large physical structure, they hardly had any predators.

Did you know...

The name 'Lanzhousaurus' was given by the Geological Bulletin of China.

Lanzhousaurus discovery implies a connection between ancient Eurasia and Africa during the beginning of the Cretaceous. It is unknown if they considered endemic. Scientific analysis shows that there is a close relationship between the Lurdusaurus and the L. magnidens.

Did the Lanzhousaurus have sharp teeth?

From the fossil remains of ‬Lanzhousaurus magnidens gen.‭ ‬et sp.‭ ‬nov.‭ ‬from Gansu Province,‭ ‬China from the Early Cretaceous age, it has been studied that this genus of Ornithopoda had surprisingly huge-sized teeth and was known as the 'largest toothed herbivore dinosaur in the world.

The teeth specimens that have been preserved from the lower jaw measured to be 5.5 in (14 cm) and are likely to be different from other Iguanodontian dinosaurs.

What environment did the Lanzhousaurus live in?

The geological environment of the Lanzhousaurus included terrestrial habitats which are land environments, like forests, higher and lower grasslands, deserts, and wetlands with adequate vegetation which included plants like syngonium, philodendron, aglaodorum, cordyline, ophiopogon, physostegia, adiantum, and aglaonema.

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 Telmatosaurus interesting facts and Prosaurolophus surprising facts pages.

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

Main image by GKNOVA6

Second image by Nobu Tamura