Xixiasaurus

Ze-ze-ah-sore-us.
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Lilah Turner

Evolutionary Biologist

Lilah Turner investigates how prehistoric animals adapted to changing environments, offering insights into evolution's mechanisms.

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Name

Xixiasaurus ‭(‬Xixia lizard‭).

Phonetic

Ze-ze-ah-sore-us.

Named By

J.‭ ‬L�,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Liu,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Jia,‭ & ‬Q.‭ ‬Ji.‭ ‬2010.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Deinonychosauria,‭ ‬Troodontidae.

Diet

Carnivore.

Species

X.‭ ‬henanensis‭

Size

Roughly estimated to be about 1.5 meters long.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Henan Province,‭ ‬Xixia County‭ ‬-‭ ‬Majiacun Formation.

Time Period

Santonian/Coniacian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and partial post cranial remains.

In Depth

       Xixiasaurus is a troodont genus thought to possibly be closely related to Byronosaurus and Urbacodon.‭ Part of this reasoning is that the teeth of Xixiasaurus lacked serrations. ‬Care should be taken not to confuse Xixiasaurus with the alvarezsaur genus Xixianykus that is also known from the same formation as Xixiasaurus.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new troodontid theropod from the Late Cretaceous of central China,‭ ‬and the radiation of Asian troodontids‭ ‬-‭ ‬J.‭ ‬L�,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Liu,‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Jia,‭ & ‬Q.‭ ‬Ji.‭ ‬2010.

SPECIES SPOTLIGHT

varanus priscus a.k.a Megalania