Bactrosaurus facts for kids
Quick facts for kids BactrosaurusTemporal range: Upper Cretaceous, 70 mya
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| Partial B. johnsoni skeleton | |
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Animalia
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Chordata
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Bactrosaurua
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| Bactrosaurus johnsoni Gilmore, 1933
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Bactrosaurus was a type of plant-eating dinosaur called a hadrosaur. It lived about 70 million years ago during the Upper Cretaceous period. Scientists found its fossils in the Gobi Desert in China. This dinosaur was quite large, growing to about 6 meters (20 feet) long. It stood about 2 meters (6.6 feet) tall on all fours and weighed between 1.1 and 1.5 tonnes (2,400 to 3,300 pounds).
Bactrosaurus is one of the earliest known hadrosaurs. Even though we don't have a complete skeleton, we know a lot about this early hadrosaur.
What Bactrosaurus Looked Like
A typical Bactrosaurus was about 6 meters (20 feet) long. It stood about 2 meters (6.6 feet) high when on all fours. This dinosaur weighed between 1.1 and 1.5 tonnes (2,400 to 3,300 pounds). Its thigh bone (femur) was around 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) long.
This dinosaur was an early relative of Lambeosaurus. It had some features similar to Iguanodon dinosaurs. For example, it had three stacked teeth for each visible tooth. Its jaw teeth were small. Bactrosaurus also had a very strong body for a hadrosaur. It seems to be a link between older iguanodontid dinosaurs and the later hadrosaurs.
Scientists first thought Bactrosaurus did not have a crest on its head. This would be normal for an iguanodont. However, later studies found parts that looked like the base of a crest. This suggests it might have had a small crest after all.
In 2003, scientists found something interesting in Bactrosaurus fossils. They saw signs of unusual bone growths or problems. These were found in the bones of several Bactrosaurus skeletons. Researchers used special scans, like X-rays, to look at the dinosaur bones. They found similar bone issues in other related hadrosaurs too. These bone problems might have been caused by things in their environment. They could also have been due to their genes.
How Bactrosaurus Was Discovered
The first Bactrosaurus fossils were found in the Gobi Desert of China. They came from a place called the Iren Dabasu Formation. Scientists found parts of six different Bactrosaurus johnsoni skeletons. These fossils included bones from young dinosaurs and full-grown adults.
Charles W. Gilmore described these fossils in 1933. He gave the new animal the name Bactrosaurus. This name means "club lizard." It refers to the large, club-shaped bones found on some of its backbones.
No complete Bactrosaurus skeleton has been found yet. But even with partial remains, we know more about Bactrosaurus than many other early hadrosaurs. We have found parts of its legs, hips, and most of its skull.
Images for kids
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Partial B. johnsoni skull at the Museum of Ancient Life
See also
In Spanish: Bactrosaurus johnsoni para niños
