Dinosaur genus

Wuerhosaurus

Dong 1973

Wuerhosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 137.1–100.5 million years old, in China.

Confidence labels

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Confidence labels are switched off. Facts with low confidence, or where sources disagree, still carry a small dot: tap it for the reason.

At a glance

Data as of 11 October 2026

137.1–100.5 Ma

Triassic

Jurassic

Cretaceous

252 million years ago20114366

The last non-bird dinosaurs died out 66 million years ago. That's as far from us as the end of this bar.

Named by: Dong 1973
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Described in: Z. Dong (1973). [Dinosaurs from Wuerho]. Reports of Paleontological Expedition to Sinkiang (II): Pterosaurian Fauna from Wuerho, Sinkiang. Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica 11: 45–52.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Dong 1973).
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. The publication the Paleobiology Database gives as the authority for this genus name, usually the one that first named and described it.
Lived: Valanginian to Albian, 137.1–100.5 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Omnisaura calculation137.1–100.5 million years ago, from its dated fossil records
medium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 3 confirmed PBDB records.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Fossils found in: China
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (3 records).
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
Rock formations: Lianmuqin
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (2 records).
Ejinhoro
low
low: Only one PBDB record.
mixed
mixed: Levels differ between entries; each has its own.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
Family: Stegosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Parent group: Stegosaurinae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
Species named in its records: Wuerhosaurus homheni
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (the species its fossil records are identified as).
Diet: herbivore (inferred for its group)
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this, and it infers it for the whole of Ornithischia, the group this genus belongs to, not from this genus's own fossils.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Way of life: ground dwelling, gregarious (inferred for its group)
low
low: PBDB infers this way of life for the whole of Ornithischia; behaviour is rarely known for one genus.
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB, inferred from a group the genus belongs to.
Known from: Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).

Sources: Paleobiology Database (CC BY 4.0)Confidence levels and gaps are Omnisaura's own assessment.

Gaps are answers

What isn't known yet

Type species: no source we use gives it yet.
Order: no source we use gives it yet.
Common names: no source we use gives it yet.
What it was named after: no source we use gives it yet.
Resting on one source: 6 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): name (PBDB); authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB); diet (PBDB).

Size and appearance aren't covered yet, and diet and way of life only as PBDB infers them for the wider group. Omnisaura leaves the rest out rather than guess.

Where sources disagree

None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.

Did it meet…?

Did Wuerhosaurus meet ?

No. Wuerhosaurus had gone at least 16.9 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record.

Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.

Connections

Genera linked to Wuerhosaurus by where and when their fossils were found, by classification and by who named them. Select a name to open its page.

Same rocks, same time 2

Genera found in the same rock units, from rocks of overlapping age, the most shared fossil sites first.

Psittacosaurus Sinornithoides

Same family: Stegosauridae 8

Other genera in Stegosauridae with a full profile.

Adratiklit Changdusaurus Chungkingosaurus Dacentrurus Hesperosaurus Kentrosaurus Loricatosaurus Stegosaurus

Named by Dong 10

Genera whose naming authority includes the same surname. The authority has no initials, so different people who share a surname can appear together.

Alxasaurus Archaeoceratops Bellusaurus Chungkingosaurus Datousaurus Gongbusaurus Nanshiungosaurus Shunosaurus Sinornithoides Yangchuanosaurus

Found in China 67

Other genera found in China, from rocks of overlapping age, the most fossil sites there first.

Psittacosaurus Grallator Brontopodus Eubrontes Caririchnium Microraptor Asianopodus Sinovenator Archaeoceratops Minisauripus Parafaveoloolithus Sinornithosaurus Sinosauropteryx Velociraptorichnus Auroraceratops Beipiaosaurusand 51 more

Credits

Where this page comes from

Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
OmnisauraOmnisaura editorial · confidence levels and gaps
PaleoMAP PaleoCoastlines (Kocsis and Scotese 2021)CC BY 4.0 · ancient coastlines on the small map
Natural EarthPublic domain · today's coastlines