Eshanosaurus

Eshan lizard

• Eshan · Chinese (place name) · Eshan County, Yunnan, China
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name means "Eshan lizard". It refers to Eshan County in Yunnan Province, China, where the fossil, a partial lower jaw, was found. It was originally described as a very early therizinosauroid theropod.

Named by

Xu, Zhao and Clark

Year named

2001

Period

Early Jurassic

Found in

Lufeng Formation, Yunnan, China

Known only from a fragmentary lower jaw. It was first described as the oldest known therizinosauroid, which would have extended that group's record back about 60 million years. Later studies questioned this and suggested it may be a basal sauropodomorph instead, so its classification is disputed. The type species is E. deguchiianus.