Fun Qianzhousaurus Facts For Kids

The Qianzhousaurus was a Tyrannosaur that belongs to the Saurischia, the Dinosauria, and the Theropoda clades. It lived during the Maastrichtian age of the late Cretaceous period. The Qianzhousaurus became extinct about 66 million years ago. It inhabited what is today known as Asia and fossil remains were discovered in southern China, in the Nanxiong formation in Ganzhou. Hence the dinosaur has been named Qianzhousaurus (‘Ganzhou lizard’) since Qianzhou is a former name of Ganzhou. Remains were found when a crew was building a park at a construction site. For a Tyrannosaurid, the Qianzhousaurus is considered a medium-sized dinosaur. It was built lightly, had a longer than usual snout, and had thick and narrow teeth. The Qianzhousaurus had very long legs, a flat complete skull, and was carnivorous and bipedal. All these features made it a very fast, agile, and efficient dinosaur. Because of the long snout, the Qianzhousaurus has been nicknamed ‘Pinocchio rex’. Other dinosaurs it fed on include Oviraptorosaurs, Ornithomimids, and Ornithopods.For more relatable content, check out these Pyroraptor facts and Stegoceras facts for kids.

What did they prey on? Other dinosaurs like Oviraptorosaurs, Ornithomimids, and Ornithopods; lizards; early mammals; reptiles

What did they eat? Carnivores

Average litter size? 3-20 eggs

How much did they weigh? 1,669 lb (757 kg)

How long were they? 20.7 ft (6.3 m)

How tall were they? N/A

What did they look like? Mid-size Tyrannosaur with a light build, a long snout, thick teeth, a deep-set jaw, long legs

Skin Type Dry scales

What were their main threats? Natural disasters

Where were they found? Terrestrial habitats

Locations Asia

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Qianzhousaurus

Class Reptilia (clades: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda)

Family Tyrannosauridae

Scientific Name Qianzhousaurus sinensis

How scary were they? 5

How loud were they? 4

How intelligent were they? 2

Qianzhousaurus Interesting FactsHow do you pronounce ‘Qianzhousaurus’?Qianzhousaurus is pronounced as ‘K‬e-an-su-sor-us’.What type of dinosaur was a Qianzhousaurus?The Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) was a Tyrannosaurid and belonged to clades Dinosauria, Theropoda, and Saurischia.In which geological period did the Qianzhousaurus roam the Earth?These Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) dinosaurs were alive during the Maastrichtian stage of the late Cretaceous period, which lasted from 72.1-66 million years ago.When did the Qianzhousaurus become extinct?The Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) dinosaur went extinct about 66 million years ago.Where did the Qianzhousaurus live?The Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) dinosaur used to live in what is now Asia.The holotype specimen of the Qianzhousaurus species was discovered in southern China, in the Ganzhou province, Nanxiong formation. The fossil specimen was found in an industrial park in a construction site in the year 2010.What was the Qianzhousaurus’ habitat?Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) dinosaurs inhabited terrestrial habitats. Tall trees and lush vegetation would have been around so that the Qianzhousaurus could use the cover and ambush prey animals.Who did the Qianzhousaurus live with?Being carnivorous Tyrannosaurids, the Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) species of dinosaurs would have probably lived and hunted alone. However, there is also some evidence to suggest that they may have hunted in packs.How long did a Qianzhousaurus live?The Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) species of Tyrannosaurids lived for around 30 years.How did they reproduce?The Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) species of dinosaurs reproduced by mating. They laid anywhere between 3-20 eggs, but the amount of parental care shown by them is not known.Qianzhousaurus Fun FactsWhat did the Qianzhousaurus look like?The Qianzhousaurus (Qianzhousaurus sinensis) is a Tyrannosaurid of medium size. It is different from other Tyrannosaurids since it has a premaxilla that is highly narrowed, no vertical ridge-like configuration on the ilium’s lateral surface, and also, the maxilla’s upper extension has a pneumatic opening.Unlike most Tyrannosaurids, the Qianzhousaurus had prominent thick teeth and a deep-set jaw. It also had a long snout that made the thick teeth look narrow when the snout was closed.The holotype of the Qianzhousaurus skeleton was more mature and bigger than the two Alioramus species. The holotype was likely not a full-grown individual since some of the sutures between dorsal and cervical vertebrae appeared to be fused partially. The Qianzhousaurus had long legs, the femur was 27.6 in (70 cm) long and the tibia was 29.9 in (76 cm) long.When it was described as a genus that lived around today’s China, the Qianzhousaurus was unlike any other tyrannosaur. Asian genus Alioramus had a gracile build and a proportionate snout that was slightly longer than larger dinosaurs like the Tyrannosaurus and the Tarbosaurus. For the Qianzhousaurus dinosaur, however, the snout was particularly long, and this is why it has been given the name ‘Pinocchio rex’.The Qianzhousaurus may have developed a special skull to increase its predatory efficiency. Since dinosaurs like the Tarbosaurus and the Zhuchengtyrannus also roamed Asia, competition for prey would have been fierce and both these dinosaurs had short, deep, and robust snouts. Skulls of these two dinosaurs and other Tyrannosaurs had powerful jaw muscles with crushing bites of narrow teeth that would overwhelm large prey like Hadrosaurs, Ankylosaurs, and Ceratopsians. Such a powerful jaw in the skull had no benefit when considering small dinosaur prey, which, if they even caught, would not require such a powerful bite for killing. This gap in the ecosystem was fulfilled by the Qianzhousaurus and its long snout.The complete skull of the Qianzhousaurus was not deep and there wasn’t enough space for muscles of a closing jaw in the skull. This meant that the bite force of the Qianzhousaurus teeth was nowhere near that of the Tabosaurus teeth. The narrow teeth were also smaller in proportion and not rooted very deeply. The narrow teeth were not a weakness, however.Even though the accurate reconstruction of the Qianzhousaurus and its skull is still sketchy, it is known through fossil remains that it was built lightly. They weren’t stronger than closely related larger dinosaurs but were definitely more agile and faster. This made them capable of adding small and fast dinosaurs to their diet like Oviraptorosaurs, Ornithomimids, and Ornithopods. Larger Tyrannosaurs would never catch up to such prey. This meant that the Qianzhousaurus was not particularly an ambush predator. The long snout also helped these Qianzhousaurus dinosaurs in this regard, since they would only have to reach closely enough so that their snouts and jaws could reach their prey rather than their entire bodies. When considering its niche, the Qianzhousaurus would fall in the same category as other small predatory dinosaurs like Troodontids and Dromaeosaurs and some other bigger Tyrannosaurs.How many bones did a Qianzhousaurus have?The Qianzhousaurus (nicknamed Pinocchio rex) dinosaur had around 200 bones in its skeleton.How did they communicate?Qianzhousaurus (nicknamed Pinocchio rex) dinosaurs communicated through loud vocal sounds and through visual displays. They used grunts and roars as well as defensive postures and mating displays.How big was the Qianzhousaurus?The Qianzhousaurus (nicknamed Pinocchio rex) was around 20.7 ft (6.3 m) long on average. This makes the Qianzhousaurus size five times bigger than the Auroraceratops size.How fast could a Qianzhousaurus move?Being a carnivorous Tyrannosaurid, the Qianzhousaurus (nicknamed Pinocchio rex) was able to move at speeds close to or greater than 27 mph (43.4 kph).How much did a Qianzhousaurus weigh?The Qianzhousaurus is thought to have weighed around 1,669 lb (757 kg).What were the male and female names of the species?Suffixes ‘saura’ and ‘saurus’ could be applied to the Qianzhousaurus name when referring to females and males respectively.What would you call a baby Qianzhousaurus?A baby Qianzhousaurus would be termed a hatchling or a nestling since it would’ve come out of an egg.What did they eat?The Qianzhousaurus was a carnivore and ate other dinosaurs such as Oviraptorosaurs, Ornithomimids, and Ornithopods; lizards; early mammals; and reptiles.How aggressive were they?They were late Cretaceous-era carnivorous Tyrannosaurids, so Qianzhousaurus dinosaurs would have been very aggressive towards their prey and possibly one another, for mating and territorial rights.Did you know…The main point of distinction in the Qianzhousaurus vs Spinosaurus is that that the Qianzhousaurus is a Tyrannosaurid and the Spinosaurus is a Spinosaurid. The Spinosaurus lived in the Turonian age and the Qianzhousaurus lived in the Maastrichtian age, both in the late Cretaceous period.Why are they called Qianzhousaurus?The name Qianzhousaurus translates to ‘Ganzhou lizard’.The name comes from Qianzhou, which is an older name for the city of Ganzhou, where fossil remains were discovered.Also, the specific name ‘sinesis’ comes from ‘sin’, ‘sinai’, or ‘sino’ which is Greek for something that relates to China.How was the Qianzhousaurus discovered?The Qianzhousaurus dinosaur was discovered in southern China, and found in the Nanxiong formation, in the city of Ganzhou, at an industrial park’s construction site. It was first described in 2014 in the Nature Communications journal by a group of paleontologists comprising Junchang Lü, Laiping Yi, Ling Yang, Stephen L. Brusatte, Hua Li, and Liu Chen.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly dinosaur facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other dinosaurs from our Gojirasaurus fun facts for kids and Eustreptospondylus interesting facts pages.You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable Qianzhousaurus coloring pages. Main image by FunkMonk (Michael B. H.).Second Image by PaleoGeekSquared.

How do you pronounce ‘Qianzhousaurus’?

Qianzhousaurus is pronounced as ‘K‬e-an-su-sor-us’.

Fun Qianzhousaurus Facts For Kids

What did they prey on? Other dinosaurs like Oviraptorosaurs, Ornithomimids, and Ornithopods; lizards; early mammals; reptiles

What did they eat? Carnivores

Average litter size? 3-20 eggs

How much did they weigh? 1,669 lb (757 kg)

How long were they? 20.7 ft (6.3 m)

How tall were they? N/A

What did they look like? Mid-size Tyrannosaur with a light build, a long snout, thick teeth, a deep-set jaw, long legs

Skin Type Dry scales

What were their main threats? Natural disasters

Where were they found? Terrestrial habitats

Locations Asia

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Qianzhousaurus

Class Reptilia (clades: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda)

Family Tyrannosauridae

Scientific Name Qianzhousaurus sinensis

How scary were they? 5

How loud were they? 4

How intelligent were they? 2

Fun Qianzhousaurus Facts For Kids

What did they prey on? Other dinosaurs like Oviraptorosaurs, Ornithomimids, and Ornithopods; lizards; early mammals; reptiles

What did they eat? Carnivores

Average litter size? 3-20 eggs

How much did they weigh? 1,669 lb (757 kg)

How long were they? 20.7 ft (6.3 m)

How tall were they? N/A

What did they look like? Mid-size Tyrannosaur with a light build, a long snout, thick teeth, a deep-set jaw, long legs

Skin Type Dry scales

What were their main threats? Natural disasters

Where were they found? Terrestrial habitats

Locations Asia

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Qianzhousaurus

Class Reptilia (clades: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda)

Family Tyrannosauridae

Scientific Name Qianzhousaurus sinensis

How scary were they? 5

How loud were they? 4

How intelligent were they? 2

Fun Qianzhousaurus Facts For Kids

What did they prey on? Other dinosaurs like Oviraptorosaurs, Ornithomimids, and Ornithopods; lizards; early mammals; reptiles

What did they eat? Carnivores

Average litter size? 3-20 eggs

How much did they weigh? 1,669 lb (757 kg)

How long were they? 20.7 ft (6.3 m)

How tall were they? N/A

What did they look like? Mid-size Tyrannosaur with a light build, a long snout, thick teeth, a deep-set jaw, long legs

Skin Type Dry scales

What were their main threats? Natural disasters

Where were they found? Terrestrial habitats

Locations Asia

Kingdom Animalia

Genus Qianzhousaurus

Class Reptilia (clades: Dinosauria, Saurischia, Theropoda)

Family Tyrannosauridae

Scientific Name Qianzhousaurus sinensis

How scary were they? 5

How loud were they? 4

How intelligent were they? 2