NAME

Meaning - Beipiaosaurus means “Beipiao lizard”
Pronounced - bay-peow-SAWR-us
Named By - Xu, Tang and Wang
When Named - 1999
DIET

Herbivore (plant-eater)
SIZE

Length - 7.3 ft (2.2 m) long
Height - 2.9 ft (.88 m) tall at the hips
Weight - 187 pounds (85 kg)
WHEN IT LIVED

Middle Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago
WHERE IT LIVED

A fossil was found in the Yixian Formation near Beipiao, Liaoning Province, China, Asia.
FOSSILS

What has been Found - A partial fossil was found plus impressions that showed filamentous feathers on the skin.
CLASSIFICATION
  • Kingdom Animalia (animals)
  • Phylum Chordata (having a hollow nerve chord ending in a brain)
  • Class Archosauria (diapsids with socket-set teeth, etc.)
  • Order Saurischia - lizard-hipped dinosaurs
  • Suborder Theropoda - bipedal carnivores
  • Tetanuran - advanced theropods
  • Infraorder Coelurosauria - lightly-built fast-running predators with hollow bones and large brains
  • Family Therizinosauria - strange theropods with toothless beaks and four toes (except Beipiaosaurus)
  • Genus Beipiaosaurus (the most primitive therizinosaur)
  • Species B. inexpectus (type species named by Xu, Tang and Wang, 1999)
INTERESTING FACTS

Beipiaosaurus had a toothless beak, cheek teeth, and protofeathers (primitive filamentous feathers that were probably used for insulation or display - but not for flying).