Xiaosaurus
Sign in to saveXiaosaurus ("dawn lizard", ), is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the middle Jurassic (approximately 170.3 to 163.5 million years ago) of what is now the Sichuan Basin of China.
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- Discovery and naming
- Description
- Classification
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Xiaosaurus ("dawn lizard", ), is a genus of small herbivorous ornithischian dinosaur from the middle Jurassic (approximately 170.3 to 163.5 million years ago) of what is now the Sichuan Basin of China.
==Discovery and naming== In 1979 and 1980, two specimens were discovered of a small herbivorous dinosaur during excavations near Dashanpu in Sichuan. In 1983 Dong Zhiming and Tang Zilu named the fossils under the type species Xiaosaurus dashanpensis. The generic name is derived from Chinese xiáo, 曉, "dawn", a reference to the age of the fossil. The specific name refers to Danshanpu.