Dinosaurs A to Z
Ankylosauridae

Liaoningosaurus paradoxus

"Liaoning lizard"

Generic ankylosaur body-plan outline
You 1.8 m (5.9 ft) tall
Liaoningosaurus 5 m (16.4 ft) long
as long as 3 people standing fingertip to fingertip
generic ankylosaur body plan, scaled to length — not a silhouette of Liaoningosaurus
Length
5 m (16.4 ft)
Period
Early Cretaceous (125.4–118.9 Mya)
Place
China
Food
Herbivore
Clade
Ankylosauridae Dinosauria Ornithischia Thyreophora Ankylosauria Club-tailed armored herbivores.

Liaoningosaurus (meaning “Liaoning lizard”) is an unusual genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Liaoning Province, China that lived during the Early Cretaceous (late Barremian to early Aptian stages, ~125.4 to 118.9 Ma) in what is now the Yixian and Jiufotang Formation. The type and only species, Liaoningosaurus paradoxus, is known from more than 20 specimens, represented by juvenile individuals. It was named in 2001 by Xu, Wang and You.

L. paradoxus was unusual among ornithischian dinosaurs in that it is speculated to have hunted or scavenged, with preserved gut contents showing that it may have eaten fish. Additionally, some features of its skeleton may suggest that it was partially aquatic. However, not all paleontologists agree with this interpretation.

What we know

  • Named by Xu et al., 2001.
  • Fossils found in China.

What we guess

The reconstruction notes for Liaoningosaurus — soft tissue, color, behavior — haven't been written up yet. Only the recorded basics above are filled in so far.