Xiaosaurus

dawn lizard

• xiao · Chinese · dawn
• sauros · Greek · lizard

Xiaosaurus combines the Chinese word "xiao", meaning dawn, with the Greek "sauros", meaning lizard. The name is usually translated as "dawn lizard". It refers to a small, early, plant-eating dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China.

Named by

Dong and Tang

Year named

1983

Period

Middle Jurassic

Stages

Bathonian – Callovian

Found in

Lower Shaximiao Formation, Dashanpu, Zigong, Sichuan, China

Small, bipedal herbivorous ornithischian (type species Xiaosaurus dashanpensis) known from fragmentary remains. Its exact position within Ornithischia is uncertain. The pronunciation is an approximation.