Fun Yixianosaurus Facts For Kids

Moumita Dutta
Oct 20, 2022 By Moumita Dutta
Originally Published on Mar 24, 2022
Edited by Luca Demetriou
Fact-checked by Pradhanya Rao
Yixianosaurus facts are great for kids.
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Age: 3-18
Read time: 2.9 Min

Have you heard that dinosaurs were an early stage for modern-day birds? If so, then you would enjoy reading about the Yixianosaurus longimanus, a feathered dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in China. From the fossilized remains, paleontologists have been able to retrieve fossilized arms known for its advanced characteristics and specific structure of being short but with long hands and elongated fingers. Alongside, fossilized feathers have been found, and the contour feathers are said to be similar to some birds from the Yixian Formation. The first fossil was discovered in 2001, but Xu Xing and Wang Xiaolin described and named it in 2003. Therefore, do keep reading if you would like to know more about the Yixianosaurus.

Yixianosaurus Interesting Facts

How do you pronounce 'Yixianosaurus'?

It's pronounced as 'Yi-xi-a-no-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Yixianosaurus?

The Yixianosaurus dinosaur is classified as a maniraptoran theropod dinosaur genus.

In which geological period did the Yixianosaurus roam the Earth?

It was present during the Barremian age of the Early Cretaceous geological period.

When did the Yixianosaurus become Extinct?

It is unknown when exactly this maniraptoran dinosaur went Extinct.

Where did Yixianosaurus live?

It lived in northeastern China.

What was the Yixianosauruss' habitat?

The habitat for this dinosaur would have been terrestrial.

Who did the Yixianosaurus live with?

The dinosaur would have lived with other animals and dinosaur species that existed during the Early Cretaceous period in China. It's also believed that most dinosaurs would have lived a solitary life like modern-day reptiles. It is not known what other species lived around them. It is unknown if they lived in groups or not.

How long did a Yixianosaurus live?

No information is available regarding its lifespan.

How did they reproduce?

Like most other dinosaurs, it would have reproduced by laying eggs.

Yixianosaurus Fun Facts

What did the Yixianosaurus look like?

With the help of the fossilized feathers and arms recovered, this dinosaur is thought to have had short arms with long hands that helped it in catching prey, possibly insects. The long hands have been said to be 140% of the length of its humerus. It is known that they had a limited ability to fly.

Yixianosaurus fossils help us to know about dinosaurs with feathers.

 

 

How many bones did a Yixianosaurus have?

We don't know the exact number of bones or teeth that the Yixian lizard had. The compression fossil had preserved a partial skeleton with fossilized arms, fossilized feathers, shoulder girdle, ribs, and even some gastralia. The bones point towards the dinosaur having a long hand that helped it to catch prey.

How did they communicate?

It would have communicated by making sounds.

How big was the Yixianosaurus?

This dinosaur is assumed to have had a body length of 3 ft (1 m). Compared to it, a Microraptor had a body size of around 2.5 ft (0.7 m). No information is available about the wingspan of a Yixianosaurus.

How fast could a Yixianosaurus move?

We have no information about its speed.

How much did a Yixianosaurus weigh?

The Yixianosaurus longimanus dinosaur is said to have a weight of 2 lb (1 kg).

What were the male and female names of the species?

No, there weren't specific names.

What would you call a baby Yixianosaurus?

A baby would be called a hatchling.

How aggressive were they?

We don't know if this dinosaur was aggressive. However, it would have been predated by bigger carnivorous dinosaurs because of its small size.

Did You Know…

The generic name of Yixianosaurus stands for 'Yixian lizard', while the specific name refers to its long hand.

 

*We've been unable to source an image of Yixianosaurus and have used an image of Gallimimus instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Yixianosaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.

**We've been unable to source an image of Yixianosaurus and have used an image of Aurornis instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Yixianosaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at hello@kidadl.com.

Yixianosaurus Facts

What Did They Prey On?

Unknown

what Type of Animal were they?

Possibly insectivorous

Average Litter Size?

Unknown

What Did They Look Like?

Unknown

How Much Did They Weigh?

2 lb (1 kg)

Skin Type

Feathers

How Long Were They?

3 ft (1 m)

How Tall Were They?

Unknown

Kingdom

Animalia

Class

Reptilia

Genus

Yixianosaurus

Family

Anchiornithidae

Scientific Name

Yixianosaurus longimanus

What Were Their Main Threats?

Natural disasters

What Habitat Did They Live In?

Terrestrial

Where Did They Live?

China
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Written by Moumita Dutta

Bachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management

Moumita Dutta picture

Moumita DuttaBachelor of Arts specializing in Journalism and Mass Communication, Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Management

A content writer and editor with a passion for sports, Moumita has honed her skills in producing compelling match reports and stories about sporting heroes. She holds a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management, Calcutta University, alongside a postgraduate diploma in Sports Management.

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