Distribution:
They roamed across modern-day China
Time Period:
They lived 169-163 million years ago in the middle of the Jurassic Period. The Jurassic Period was the second of three segments which made up the Mesozoic Era also known as the age of the dinosaurs. Reptiles were the dominant species of the age. This period had some of the largest dinosaurs to have ever existed.
Size:
Yandusaurus was 4 meters (13 ft) long and weighed 140kg
Diet:
These dinosaurs were herbivores
Interesting Facts:
When was Yandusaurus was discovered it was almost destroyed by a mechanical composter. Unfortunately, by the time workers realised what had happened its remains had already been heavily damaged. Some areas of it’s remains had been completely destroyed by the machine. It was quite large for an ornithopod (dinosaurs with cattle-like behaviour) and would have relied on its speed and agility to evade predators. They may have had feathers like their Russian cousin, Kulindadromeus. However, no skin impressions of this dinosaur have been recovered yet which means that we still don’t know if Yandusaurus was feathered or not. Its name means ‘ Zigong lizard’, after the city of Zigong in China.