Cretaceous
Beipiaosaurus
Beipiaosaurus inexpectus
The catalogue presents Beipiaosaurus as a herbivore member of Therizinosauria that lived during the Cretaceous, between 125 Ma. Its estimated range is 2.2 m in length and 85 kg in mass, giving a practical sense of scale. Reference material comes from Liaoning, China. Size and mass are approximations and may change with new fossils or methods.
Evidence-backed summary
For Beipiaosaurus, the PBDB records the taxonomic attribution as Xu et al. (1999).
The PBDB places it in Therizinosauroidea, and the catalogue record assigns it to the family Therizinosauria.
- PBDB · taxon.parent
- Therizinosauria
In the PBDB record, the reported stratigraphic range runs from the Barremian to the Aptian.
The PBDB catalogues 1 occurrence, with material from the Yixian Formation (1). Provenance: China.
The catalogue records the holotype as IVPP V11559 and the type locality as “Liaoning, China”.
- IVPP V11559
- Liaoning, China
The catalogue's reference measurements are 2.2 m in length and 85 kg in mass — estimates, which vary with specimen and method.
- 2.2 m
- 85 kg
The record gathers 19 bibliographic references registered in the PBDB, listed below.
Where it lived
Fossil occurrences on today’s map and in the tectonic reconstruction.
Positions reconstructed by PBDB/GPlates, not observed; this is not an exact habitat map.
Artistic 3D reconstruction
There is no approved species-specific 3D model yet. Generic anatomy will not be presented as if it were evidence.
Physical Specifications
- Length
- 2.2 m
- Weight
- 85 kg
- Period
- Cretaceous
- Time range
- 125 Ma
Discovery Information
- First Discovery
- 1999
- Described by
- Xu Xing
Taxonomic Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Saurischia
- Family
- Therizinosauria
- Genus
- Beipiaosaurus
- Species
- B. inexpectus
Data status
Taxonomic name matched to PBDB and checked on 2026-08-08.
Taxonomic linkage does not automatically validate size, mass, behaviour or appearance.
- Type specimen
- IVPP V11559
- Type locality
- Liaoning, China