Pronunciation: KIE-ruh-SOR-us
Meaning: Kayra lizard
Author/s: Liao et al. (2026)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Liaoning, China
Acta Ordinal: #1246
Kayrasaurus changliensis
(Kayra Lizard from Changli)Etymology
Kayrasaurus is derived from "Kayra" (the creator god in Turkic shamanism, and the father of Erlik, the god of death, for whom the fellow therizinosaur Erlikosaurus was named) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
'The species epithet, changliensis, combines "changli" (a Three Kingdoms-era name for the region that includes the fossil site) with the Latin "-ensis" (from). ZooBank registry: https://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:505B2A92-F877-490D-AA80-7CE5A21242B9.
Discovery
The remains of Kayrasaurus were discovered in the Yixian Formation at Dabangou village near Beipiao, western Liaoning province, China.The holotype (IVPP V18597—housed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology [IVPP] in Beijing) is a nearly complete, immature specimen, including a skull but missing much of the pelvis and the tail tip.
Preparators
Xiaoqing Ding
