Chinese Dinosaurs

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Chinese Dinosaurs

Chinese dinosaurs
and dragon bones

Feathered dinosaurs

Dinosaurs family tree

Dinosaur Factsheets

Huayangosaurus taibaii

Lufengosaurus huenei

Mamenchisaurus
jingyanensis

Mamenchisaurus youngi

Omeisaurus tianfuensis

Psittacosaurus sinensis

Shunosaurus lii

Tsintaosaurus
spinorhinus

Yangchuanosaurus
huopingensis

Yangchuanosaurus
shangyouensis

Pliosaur

Velociraptor mongoliensis

Caudipteryx zoui

Sinosauropteryx prima

Pliosaur

Pronounced 'ply-oh-saw'

Artist: James Reece

Pliosaurs were aquatic carnivorous reptiles, not dinosaurs, that lived between 220 and 70 million years ago. This pliosaur has not yet been named scientifically but may be a specimen of Yuzhoupliosaurus chengjiangensis.

Pliosaurs had:

large, sharp, serrated teeth for catching prey;
lungs for breathing air;
modified paddle-like limbs (like those of a penguin) which they used to swim through the water.

Yuzhoupliosaurus chengjiangensis was named after the place where it was discovered: Chongqing, which was known as Yuzhou in ancient times.

Pliosaurs are short-necked plesiosaurs. They are more closely related to lizards and snakes than to dinosaurs and birds.