Fun Zhongjianosaurus Facts For Kids

The Zhongjianosaurus fossils were first discovered in 2009 in China. The fossils were found in a lake in Sihedang, Lingyuan County by Xu Xing and Qin Zi-Chuan and belonged to the Early Cretaceous period. Although the Zhongjianosaurus skeleton that was found was only partial and was named after Yang Zhongjian, founder of the vertebrate paleontology in China. The holotype specimen of the Zhongjianosaurus dinosaur is in the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing.

The features of the skeleton included eight dorsal ribs on the left side and five dorsal ribs on the right side, 27 caudal vertebrae in the tail, the sternum has a left sternum plate, five sternal ribs. The forelimbs of the Zhongjianosaurus are also preserved. It included the humeral shaft, left radius, and left ulna. Some portions of the hind legs are also preserved.

How do you pronounce 'Zhongjianosaurus'?

Zhongjianosaurus is pronounced as 'Zong-je-an-o-sore-us'.

What type of dinosaur was a Zhongjianosaurus?

The Zhongjianosaurus is a flying dinosaur.

In which geological period did the Zhongjianosaurus fly on the Earth?

The Zhongjianosaurus belonged to the Early Cretaceous period.

When did the Zhongjianosaurus become Extinct?

This dromaeosaurid perhaps became Extinct towards the end of the Cretaceous era.

Where did a Zhongjianosaurus live?

Zhongjianosaurus were tree-dwelling birds that preferred to live in densely forested areas where there were a lot of trees. Their fossils suggest they were from the Early Cretaceous era.

What was a Zhongjianosaurus's habitat?

They were terrestrial animals since they preferred living on trees.

Who did a Zhongjianosaurus live with?

It is unknown whether they lived in herds or not.

How long did a Zhongjianosaurus live?

There is not much information on the average age range of the Zhongjianosaurus.

How did they reproduce?

With the little information that is available about this dromaeosaurid, and their way of reproduction is not known.  

What did a Zhongjianosaurus look like?

The features of the Zhongjianosaurus are quite distinguished from the other dromaeosaurid dinosaurs of the Cretaceous period. It had a stout head and small wings. The tail is elongated and the sternum is large. Since they had beaks, the teeth of the birds were not very large and pointy.

How many bones did a Zhongjianosaurus have?

Since there is only a partial skeleton recovered of this species, there is no proper estimate about the number of bones.

How did they communicate?

The exact method of communication of the dromaeosaurid is unknown.

How big was a Zhongjianosaurus?

The Zhongjianosaurus is not very big compared to the other animals. Their length was about 28 in (70 cm) and their height is about 10 in (25 cm). They are one of the smallest non-avian theropods, even smaller than Anchiornis huxleyi was 13 in (34 cm) in length and about 3.9 oz (110 g) in weight.

How fast could a Zhongjianosaurus fly?

There is not much information provided on the speed of the Zhongjianosaurus.

How much did a Zhongjianosaurus weigh?

Since it is a very small dinosaur and mainly covered in feathers, it was lightweight. It weighed only about 11 oz (310 g).

What were the male and female names of the species?

There is no mention of the different names for a male and females of the species.

What would you call a baby Zhongjianosaurus?

There was no separate name given to a baby Zhongjianosaurus.

What did they eat?

It is not sure as to what the Zhongjianosaurus usually ate.

How aggressive were they?

There is no evidence that mentions they were an aggressive species.

Did You Know...

Apart from the structure, the Zhongjianosaurus, like today's birds had large beaks that helped it hunt, feathers for flight, and used to stay in trees.

Unlike other dinosaurs, the Zhongjianosaurus were small and not very deadly.

*We've been unable to source an image of Zhongjianosaurus and have used an image of Velociraptor instead. If you are able to provide us with a royalty-free image of Zhongjianosaurus, we would be happy to credit you. Please contact us at [email protected]