Shanshanosaurus
shan-shan-oh-SORE-us /ˌʃænʃænəˈsɔːrəs/
Accepted genus
Shanshan lizard
- Shanshan · Chinese (place name) · old name for the region in Xinjiang, China, where the fossils were found
- sauros · Greek · lizard
The name combines "Shanshan", an old name for the area of Xinjiang, China, where the fossils were found, with the Greek word for lizard. It means "Shanshan lizard". The type species is Shanshanosaurus huoyanshanensis, named for the nearby Huoyan (Flaming) Mountains.
- Named by
- Dong
- Year named
- 1977
- Period
- Late Cretaceous
- Found in
- Turpan Basin, Xinjiang, China
A small theropod originally described as a small tyrannosaurid. Some researchers think the known material represents a juvenile of a larger tyrannosaurid such as Tarbosaurus, so its validity is debated.