LIAONINGOSAURUS
an unusual ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China.
Pronunciation: lee-OW-ning-oh-SOR-us
Meaning: Liaoning lizard
Author/s: Xu, Wang and You (
2001)
Synonyms: Chuanqilong chaoyangensis?
First Discovery: Liaoning Province, China
Discovery Chart Position: #495
Liaoningosaurus paradoxus
(Unusual Liaoning Lizard)Etymology
Liaoningosaurus is derived from "Liaoning" (for Liaoning Province) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The
species epithet,
paradoxus, is derived from the Greek "para" (contrary to) and "doxa" (opinion), referring to its unusual characteristics.
Discovery
The first remains of
Liaoningosaurus were discovered in the Dawangzhangzi Bed of the Yixian Formation at the Baicaigou locality, Liaoning Province, China, by members of the Western Liaoning expedition team of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP).
The
holotype (IVPP V12560) is a beautifully preserved, almost complete juvenile specimen, just 34 cm in length.
There are at least 20 specimens stored in different institutions, from five localities across China's Yixian and Jiufotang Formations, but few have been described and analysed.
Preparators
H-J Wang (holotype).
X. Ding (ELDM V1121 and IVPP V 20798).
Estimations
Timeline:
Era: Mesozoic
Epoch: Early Cretaceous
Stage: Barremian-Aptian
Age range: 125-118 mya
Stats:
Est. max. length: ?
Est. max. hip height: ?
Est. max. weight: ?
Diet: Herbivore
Liaoningosaurus
paradoxus
References
• Xu X, Wang X-L and You H-L (2001) "A juvenile ankylosaur from China".
Naturwissenschaften, 88(7): 297-300. DOI: 10.1007/s001140100233.
• Vickaryous MK, Maryanska T and Weishampel DB (2004) "Ankylosauria". Page 363-392 in Weishampel, Dodson and Osmólska (eds.) "
The Dinosauria: Second Edition".
• Arbour VM, Burns ME, Bell PR and Currie PJ (2014) "Epidermal and Dermal Integumentary Structures of Ankylosaurian Dinosaurs".
Journal of Morphology, 275(1): 39-50. DOI: 10.1002/jmor.20194.
• Arbour VM and Currie PJ (2015) "Systematics, phylogeny and palaeobiogeography of the ankylosaurid dinosaurs".
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 14(5): 1-60. DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2015.1059985.
• Ji Q, Wu X, Cheng Y, Ten F and Ji Y (2016) "Fish-hunting ankylosaurs (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) from the Cretaceous of China".
Journal of Geology, 40(2): 183-190. DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1674-3636.2016.02.183.
• Zheng W-J (2018) "New ankylosaurid from the Cretaceous of China and the early evolution of Ankylosauridae".
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences: 1-290.
• Li X and Reisz RR (2019) "The early Cretaceous ankylosaur
Liaoningosaurus from Western Liaoning, China; Progress and problems".
7th Annual meeting Canadian Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology: 31–32.
• Zheng W, Zhao Q, Barrett PM and Xu X (2025) "Bone histology of
Liaoningosaurus paradoxus (Ornithischia: Ankylosauria) from the Lower Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China".
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: e2566325. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2025.2566325.
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To cite this page:
Atkinson, L.
"
LIAONINGOSAURUS :: from DinoChecker's dinosaur archive".
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http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/LIAONINGOSAURUS›. Web access: 06th Mar 2026.
