Could this be the oldest stegosaur species in the world?
- Published
- comments
Known for the spiky plates on their backs and tails, stegosaurs are probably one of the most recognisable dinosaurs around.
Now, a group of researchers have discovered the fossilised remains of a stegosaur in China which they believe could be the most ancient ever found in Asia - and possibly the world!
The newly discovered bones are from the animal's back, shoulder, thigh, feet, and ribs, as well as several of the armour plates which would have run along it's back.
It's thought the dinosaur would have roamed Earth a staggering 170 million years ago during what's known as the Bajocian stage of the Middle Jurassic period.
This is a lot earlier than most other known stegosaurs, which could make this particular species the oldest ever found.
The Big Question: What's the difference between all the dinosaur periods?
This new species of dinosaur has been named Bashanosaurus primitivus, linking it to the ancient name for the area of Chongqing in China where it was found.
It's not known whether it would have been a baby or an adult stegosaur, but it appears to be quite a bit smaller than other stegosaurs, measuring around 2.8 metres in length. It's thought some stegosaurs grew up to nine metres long!
The discovery was made by the Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development in China along with a team from London's Natural History Museum.
Stegosaurs were dinosaurs which had four legs, armoured plates on their backs and lived on a diet of plants.
There are several different types of dinosaur which belong to the stegosaur family including the famous Stegosaurus, Huayangosaurus, Chungkingosaurus and Gigantspinosaurus.
This newly discovered dinosaur could reveal some important information around how stegosaurs evolved, something which little is known about today.
The Bashanosaurus primitivus has a smaller shoulder blade which is less developed compared to stegosaurs that came later, and the armour plates from its back are narrower in width, but thicker at the base.
It also has some similarities to the very first armoured dinosaurs which existed more than 20 million years earlier, and this means it could be an important link between older dinosaurs and the later stegosaurs.
The stegosaurus is probably the most famous member of the stegosaur family
"Bashanosaurus can be distinguished from other Middle Jurassic stegosaurs, and clearly represents a new species," says Dr Dai Hui who led the research.
"All these features are clues to the stegosaurs' place on the dinosaur family tree."
- Published4 March 2015
- Published18 June 2020
- Published17 May 2019
