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Gongbusaurus

Say it: GONG-boo-SORE-us

Name means: “Gongbu lizard, after the poet Du Fu who worked for the Gongbu (ministry of public works)”1

Ate: PlantsBeaked plant-eatersMiddle Jurassic to Late Jurassic

Gongbusaurus was a tiny, fast-running plant eater that lived in China during the Late Jurassic. It is known from just a few teeth and bones, so scientists are still figuring out what it really looked like.1

Lived

168 to 155 million years ago2

Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic

Fossils found in

Sichuan and Xinjiang, China1 2

Food

Plants2 1

Length

1.3 to 1.5 m1

estimated from a possible second species

When did it live?

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114566, the asteroid

How big was it?

as long as 3 house cats nose to tailas long as 8 bananas end to end

How big was Gongbusaurus compared to YOU?

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cool stuff

Fun facts

Gongbusaurus was named after the famous Chinese poet Du Fu, who worked for the Gongbu (ministry of public works).1

The first fossils of Gongbusaurus were just two small teeth found behind an elementary school in China.1

Scientists are not sure if Gongbusaurus was an ornithopod or an ankylosaur, because its teeth look like those of both groups.1

A possible second species, Gongbusaurus wucaiwanensis, is known from a partial skeleton, but it might belong to a different dinosaur.1

Gongbusaurus lived about 160 to 157 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic period.1

If Gongbusaurus was like its relatives, it was a fast runner that walked on two legs.1

AI-made picture of Gongbusaurus — An AI-made picture of how Gongbusaurus might have looked, made by a computer from what scientists know. It is a guess: the real animal may have looked different, and nobody knows its true colours.

you asked

Most asked questions about Gongbusaurus

?How big was Gongbusaurus?

Gongbusaurus was a small dinosaur, about 1.3 to 1.5 meters (4.3 to 4.9 feet) long.1

?What did Gongbusaurus eat?

It was a herbivore, meaning it ate plants.1 2

?When did Gongbusaurus live?

Gongbusaurus lived about 160 to 157 million years ago, during the Late Jurassic period.1

?Where was Gongbusaurus found?

Its fossils were found in China, in Sichuan and Xinjiang.1

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Myth buster

Myth: Gongbusaurus is a well-known dinosaur with many complete skeletons.

Truth: Gongbusaurus is very poorly known, based mostly on teeth and a few bones. Scientists still debate what it really was.1

For dino experts

Scientific name: Gongbusaurus
Named by: Dong et al. 19832
Group: Beaked plant-eaters
Family / clade: Fabrosauridae2
Classification: Ornithischia2
Age of the rocks: 168 to 155 million years (Bathonian / Oxfordian)2
Rock formations: Shishugou, Shaximiao2
Countries: China2
Fossil records: 5 in the Paleobiology Database2
Discovery: Gongbusaurus was named in 1983 by Dong Zhiming and colleagues, based on two teeth found in Sichuan, China.1
Still debated: Scientists are not sure if Gongbusaurus was an ornithopod or an ankylosaur, because its teeth resemble both groups.1

Where the facts come from

Gongbusaurus (en.wikipedia.org)
Gongbusaurus in The Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0): age, places, rock formations, classification.

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