Wannanosaurus
Wannanosaurus yansiensis
Wannanosaurus foi um paquicefalossauro herbívoro do Cretáceo, descrito por Hou Lian-hai. Viveu há aproximadamente 83.0-72.0 milhões de anos, na região do que hoje é China. Medindo de 0.6 m, pesando 1-2 kg, era um representante característico da fauna mesozoica.
Wannanosaurus (meaning "Wannan lizard", named after the location where it was discovered) is a genus of basal pachycephalosaurian dinosaur from the Maastrichtian-aged (Upper Cretaceous) Xiaoyan Formation, about 70 million years ago, in what is now Anhui, China. The type species Wannanosaurus yansiensis was described by Hou Lian-Hai in 1977.
It is known from a single partial skeleton, including a partial skull roof and lower jaw, a femur and tibia, part of a rib, and other fragments. Because it has a flat skull roof with large openings, it has been considered primitive among pachycephalosaurs. Sometimes it has been classified as a member of the now-deprecated family Homalocephalidae, now thought to be an unnatural assembly of pachycephalosaurs without domed skulls.
Although its remains are from a very small individual, with a femur length of approximately 8 centimetres (3.1 in) and an estimated overall length of about 60 centimetres (2.0 ft), the fused bones in its skull suggest that it was an adult at death. Like other pachycephalosaurs, it was probably herbivorous or omnivorous, feeding close to the ground on a variety of plant matter, and possibly insects as well.
- Família
- Pachycephalosauridae
- Ordem
- Ornithischia
- Período
- Cretaceous (83.0-72.0 MYA)
- Dieta
- Herbivore
- Comprimento
- 0.6 m
- Peso
- 1-2 kg
Fatos científicos
- Com apenas 0.6 m, era considerado um dinossauro de pequeno porte
- Herbívoro especializado do Cretáceo, provavelmente pastava em vegetação de China
- Seus fósseis foram encontrados na região de China, contribuindo para o entendimento da fauna cretáceo local
- Foi descrito cientificamente por Hou Lian-hai, contribuindo para o entendimento da diversidade dinossauriana