Fun Nanyangosaurus Facts For Kids

Nanyangosaurus is a dinosaur that was discovered in the present-day Henan Province of China. There are not many fossils discovered of this particular dinosaur, but the discovery depicted that they resembled other Hadrosaurs. 

Nanyangosaurus existed near the Sangping Formation of China. This is currently a part of Neixiang county of Henan.

The species does not possess a fossil of a skull which made the overall process of naming them getting delayed till 2000. The remains were first found in the year 1994 near the village of Houzhuang. The dinosaurs of the Cretaceous were not known to be not very territorial, and they were also not very greedy in nature.

Nanyangosaurus fossils do not have much information because of their partial remains, but the limbs that were found were different from the ornithopods that have been found earlier. The species have certain common features like the ornithopods but are not entirely similar. 

There have been many scientific discoveries that have spoken about this species of dinosaurs and their way of living, but due to the lack of much data, the proper ideas about the living habits of this dinosaur have not been found.

Check out cool facts about the Nanyangosaurus dinosaur by scrolling down!

Nanyangosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Nanyangosaurus'?

Even though the excavations suggest that the discovery was however made in the year 1994, it was not named before 2000. The genus of herbivore dinosaurs was first named by Xu, Zhao, Huang, Li, and Dong. Thereby the pronunciation is made like 'nan-yang-o-sor-us.'

What type of reptile was a Nanyangosaurus?

The Nanyangosaurus genus of dinosaurs was known to be ornithopod dinosaurs who lived in China during the Albian stage of the early Cretaceous period. They belonged to the Hadrosauromorpha clade.

In which geological period did the Nanyangosaurus roam the Earth?

They existed during the Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous period in Henan Province of China. However, later research speculated that the dinosaur may have lived during the Campanian Age.

When did the Nanyangosaurus become extinct?

There is no geological period specific to describe their extinction. Taking into account the extinction of the species, there has been no specific proof regarding the cause of their extinction.

But it could be speculated that the extinction has been caused to them due to the larger species of dinosaurs existing, who were counted as apex carnivore predators. Besides these, there are other reasons for which the species have also gone extinct, like the process of natural selection.

Where did a Nanyangosaurus live?

They lived in the Sangping Formation of China. This formation is currently situated in the Henan province. 

What was a Nanyangosaurus's habitat?

They were terrestrial animals like ornithopod dinosaurs. 

Who did a Nanyangosaurus live with?

It is not known whether the Nanyangosaurus lived with their genus of ornithopods in groups. They also might have led a solitary life.

How long did a Nanyangosaurus live?

There is no proper record regarding the life span of a Nanyangosaurus.

How did they reproduce?

They reproduced through eggs. However, there has been no specific information regarding the dinosaurs based on their incubation period and the time they gained sexual maturity. 

Nanyangosaurus Fun Facts

What did a Nanyangosaurus look like?

Nanyangosaurus lived in the Henan Province of China during the Late Cretaceous period. However, the fossils have suggested to the scientists that they belonged to the Ornithopod clade of dinosaurs. Some cladal research also concluded that they were part of the Iguanodontia clade while being closely related to another clade called the Hadrosauroidea.

In the year 1994, the remains of the Nanyangosaurus dinosaurs were found near the village of Houzhuang in Neixiang county of Henan Province of China. The holotype specimen that has been found, named IVPP V 11821, has been excavated from the Xiaguan Formation. Scientists have speculated that these fossils have been dated during the Turonian-Campanian stages. 

The dinosaur was not specifically very tall in size, with the length of the dinosaur being roughly 15 ft (4.5 m). However, the skeleton that has been found in excavations has lacked skulls.

The fossils represented eight posterior dorsal with a partial ischium along with a forelimb and a hindlimb. This made the scientists think that Nanyangosaurus belonged to the Albian age.

The length of the femur is 1.8 ft (0.54 m) approx. The forelimbs were relatively long, accompanied by longhand. The first metacarpal has been absent. However, it had a thumb spike typical of its relatives of being reptiles.

How many bones did a Nanyangosaurus have?

There has been no specific information discovered about the bone structure of the Nanyangosaurus. The fossils have shown us the postcranial remains, which only gives a keen description of this particular dinosaur.

Therefore, there has been no specific information of this genus of dinosaurs regarding its bone structure. Eight posterior dorsal vertebrae, a sacrum of six vertebrae, and a tail of thirty-six vertebrae with a partial ischium, forelimb, and hindlimb were found.

Generally, a dinosaur would have around 200 bones in its body. Unfortunately, due to the lack of proper evidence, it is very difficult to estimate how many bones the Nanyangosaurus had.

How did they communicate?

There has been no description given in this regard based upon the communication method of this genus of dinosaurs. The scientists have assumed that they communicated through loud screeches and roars. Despite such assumptions, the communication procedure of dinosaurs, in general, is still a mystery today.

How big was a Nanyangosaurus?

There is no specific description based upon the size of this genus of dinosaurs. Even though only postcranial remains have been found of this particular dinosaur, there is only speculation in this regard.

Such speculations state that this herbivorous dinosaur had a size of around 15 ft (4.5 m) in length and weighed around 660 lb (300 kg). In comparison, it was still smaller than the Gobititan, which was another dinosaur that roamed in parts of Asia.

How fast could a Nanyangosaurus move?

There has been no evidence found about the movement of this particular genus of herbivore dinosaurs that could tell us how fast they moved. 

How much did a Nanyangosaurus weigh?

The Nanyangosaurus lived during the Early Cretaceous period. They weighed around 660 lb (300 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There has been no specific name assigned to this particular genus of dinosaurs. Interestingly, even now, it remains quite difficult to distinguish between the male and female specimens of a dinosaur.

What would you call a baby Nanyangosaurus?

There is no specific name assigned to a baby Nanyangosaurus. 

What did they eat?

They were herbivorous ornithopod dinosaurs who lived in the terrestrial lands and fed on them. They used to move around with their long thumb spike.

How aggressive were they?

The Nanyangosaurus are known to be extremely docile creatures and not at all aggressive. However, we cannot make any assumptions on whether these herbivorous reptiles were greedy or not.

Did You Know...

The fossils that have been found are missing a skull. 

There is still some confusion regarding when these creatures lived. Some researchers say that they lived during the Early Cretaceous period, while others say that they lived during the Later Cretaceous period.

Unlike other reptiles, Nanyangosaurus was not slimy at all. There is no specific information about their skin structure; however, it could be understood that they did not have slimy bodies. 

They had a medium-sized tail.

Nanyangosaurus was a member of Ornithischia, which means 'bird-hipped'. This meant that even though they did not closely related to the birds, they had similar shapes of pelvic bones. 

The generic name of the Nanyangosaurus is derived from the Chinese city of Nanyang, which is located in the Henan Province. It is from this province that the fossils of this dinosaur genus were excavated. On the other hand, the specific name Nanyangosaurus zhugeii is a tribute to Zhuge Liang, a legendary inhabitant of the city of Nanyang.