Huayangosaurus taibai skull cast replica pronounced: HWA-yang-oh-SORE-us Middle Jurassic Zigong, Sichuan Measures 42x20x29cm Purchase price: $3,500 Rental price: $2,000 Kingdom: Animalia, Phylum: Chordata, Class: Sauropsida, Superorder: Dinosauria, Order: Ornithischia, Suborder: Thyreophora, Infraorder: Stegosauria, Family: Huayangosauridae | Huayangosaurus is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. The name derives from "Huayang", an alternate name for Sichuan (the province where it was discovered), and "saurus", meaning "lizard". It lived during the Bathonian to Callovian stages, before its famous relative, Stegosaurus appeared in North America. At only 4.5 metres 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. As it is the most basal stegosaurian, it is placed in within its own family Huayangosauridae. It is also morphologically distinct from later (stegosaurid) forms. Its skull was broader and had premaxillary teeth in the front of its mouth. All later stegosaurians lost these teeth. |