Dinosaurs - Huayangosaurus taibaii

Updated

25/11/20
Read time

2 minutes

Fast Facts

Classification

Family

Huayangosauridae
Size Range

Small to medium-sized

Introduction

Huayangosaurus taibaii was a small- to medium-sized plant-eating stegosaur with primitive characteristics which lived around 165 million years ago.

Identification

Huayangosaurus taibaii had:

long forelimbs and a beak with teeth (lost in later stegosaurs);
vein-like cavities in the bony plates on its back which may have helped to regulate its body temperature or change the colour of the plates to deter predators or attract mates.

Feeding and diet

Huayangosaurus taibaii was a plant-eater.

Fossils description

Huayangosaurus taibaii was discovered in Hua Yang in what now known as Dashanpu Quarry near Zigong in Sichuan Province, China. 'Taibaii' comes from the poet Tai Bai who lived in Sichuan.