Shenzhousaurus

Divine Land (China) lizard

• Shenzhou · Chinese · divine land (a traditional name for China)
• sauros · Greek · lizard

The name combines "Shenzhou", a classical poetic name for China often rendered as "divine land", with the Greek word for lizard. It means "lizard of the Divine Land", i.e. a lizard from China. It was given to a primitive ornithomimosaur ("ostrich-mimic" dinosaur) from Liaoning Province. The type species is S. orientalis, "eastern".

Named by

Ji et al.

Year named

2003

Period

Early Cretaceous

Stage

Aptian

Found in

Yixian Formation, Liaoning Province, China

A basal ornithomimosaur (theropod). It is notable for having teeth in the front of its lower jaw, which is a primitive feature among ornithomimosaurs. The Yixian Formation's age is often given as Barremian to Aptian, so the stage here is approximate.