Huayangosaurus fossil map
Where fossils of Huayangosaurus have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 160 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 160 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Stegosaurs & ankylosaurs |
|---|---|
| Lived | 170.9–154.8 million years ago (Bajocian to Oxfordian) |
| Periods | Jurassic |
| Family | Huayangosauridae |
| Named by | Dong et al. 1982 |
| Fossil records | 1 occurrences at 1 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | China |
| Rock formations | Shaximiao |
About Huayangosaurus
Huayangosaurus is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. The name derives from "Huayang" (華陽), an alternate name for Sichuan (the province where it was discovered), and "saurus", meaning "lizard". It lived during the Bathonian to Callovian stages, around 165 million years ago, some 20 million years before its famous relative, Stegosaurus appeared in North America. At only approximately 4 metres (13 ft) long, it was also much smaller than its famous cousin. Found in the Lower Shaximiao Formation, Huayangosaurus shared the local Middle Jurassic landscape with the sauropods Shunosaurus, Datousaurus, Omeisaurus and Protognathosaurus, the ornithopod Xiaosaurus and the carnivorous Gasosaurus.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Huayangosaurus (revision 1375815248), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q131648.
