{"product_id":"huayangosaurus-taibaii-1","title":"Huayangosaurus taibaii","description":"\u003cp data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"757\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchorContainer\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"28\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"1\" data-end=\"27\"\u003eHuayangosaurus taibaii\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e was a basal stegosaurian thyreophoran dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China, known from fossil remains recovered from the Lower Shaximiao Formation in the Sichuan Basin, particularly from the famous Dashanpu locality near Zigong. It was formally described by Dong, Tang and Zhou in 1982 and represents the most characteristic member of Huayangosauridae, an early lineage of stegosaurs that retained several primitive anatomical features compared with later and better-known forms such as \u003cem data-start=\"522\" data-end=\"535\"\u003eStegosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e. Its generic name refers to Huayang, an ancient regional name associated with Sichuan, while the specific epithet \u003cem data-start=\"650\" data-end=\"659\"\u003etaibaii\u003c\/em\u003e refers to Li Bai, also known as Li Taibai, one of the most celebrated poets in Chinese tradition.\u003cspan aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"PDq2pG_selectionAnchor\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"759\" data-end=\"1441\"\u003eGeologically, \u003cem data-start=\"773\" data-end=\"797\"\u003eHuayangosaurus taibaii\u003c\/em\u003e comes from the Middle Jurassic, specifically Bathonian–Callovian levels of the Lower Shaximiao Formation, approximately 168–163 million years old. These sediments represent continental environments consisting of fluvial plains, river channels, lakes, floodplains and areas of abundant vegetation within the Sichuan Basin. The Dashanpu locality is especially important because it preserves one of the richest Jurassic dinosaur assemblages in China, including sauropods, theropods, ornithopods and thyreophorans, allowing the reconstruction of a complex ecosystem that predated the diversification of the large stegosaurids of the Late Jurassic.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"1443\" data-end=\"2086\"\u003eTaxonomically, \u003cem data-start=\"1458\" data-end=\"1482\"\u003eHuayangosaurus taibaii\u003c\/em\u003e belongs to Stegosauria, the group of armoured dinosaurs characterised by dorsal plates and spines, but it occupies a basal position within the clade. Unlike \u003cem data-start=\"1640\" data-end=\"1653\"\u003eStegosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e, which exhibits more derived body proportions and large, flattened dorsal plates, \u003cem data-start=\"1736\" data-end=\"1752\"\u003eHuayangosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e retained a relatively shorter skull, less specialised dentition and a more varied arrangement of armour. Its anatomy is especially valuable because it documents an early stage in stegosaur evolution, when the group still displayed a combination of primitive features and traits that were already clearly recognisable as stegosaurian.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2088\" data-end=\"2749\"\u003eFrom a morphometric perspective, \u003cem data-start=\"2121\" data-end=\"2145\"\u003eHuayangosaurus taibaii\u003c\/em\u003e was a relatively small stegosaur compared with the large stegosaurids of the Late Jurassic. A conservative estimate places it at around 4–4.5 metres in body length, with a low stance, robust body and a mass probably lower than that of later forms such as \u003cem data-start=\"2401\" data-end=\"2414\"\u003eStegosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e. Its body was quadrupedal, broad and compact, supported by strong limbs, with the hind limbs longer than the forelimbs and a long tail ending in defensive spines. This silhouette combined the classic appearance of a stegosaur with more primitive proportions and less exaggerated dorsal armour than that of its Late Jurassic relatives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"2751\" data-end=\"3364\"\u003eOne of the most distinctive features of \u003cem data-start=\"2791\" data-end=\"2815\"\u003eHuayangosaurus taibaii\u003c\/em\u003e was its combination of bony plates and spines. Along the neck, back and tail, it possessed a series of dorsal osteoderms, probably lower, narrower and more spine-like than the large plate-like structures of \u003cem data-start=\"3023\" data-end=\"3036\"\u003eStegosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e. In addition, like other stegosaurs, it had defensive caudal spines forming a functional “thagomizer” at the end of the tail. Some elements of its armour suggest a more complex and primitive arrangement, with possible lateral or parascapular structures that contributed both to defence and to a visually distinctive silhouette.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3366\" data-end=\"3966\"\u003eThe skull of \u003cem data-start=\"3379\" data-end=\"3403\"\u003eHuayangosaurus taibaii\u003c\/em\u003e was relatively low and short, with an anterior keratinous beak and small teeth suited to cropping vegetation. As a herbivore, it probably fed on low- to medium-height plants, including ferns, cycads, horsetails, young conifers and other vegetation available in the humid and fluvial environments of the Middle Jurassic. Its dentition was not adapted for complex mastication like that of later hadrosaurids, so food processing would have been relatively simple, combining oral cropping, selection of vegetation and digestion within a large gastrointestinal tract.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"3968\" data-end=\"4561\"\u003e\u003cem data-start=\"3968\" data-end=\"3992\"\u003eHuayangosaurus taibaii\u003c\/em\u003e inhabited an ecosystem shared with some of the most representative dinosaurs of the Chinese Middle Jurassic. In the Lower Shaximiao Formation, it coexisted with sauropods such as \u003cem data-start=\"4172\" data-end=\"4185\"\u003eShunosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem data-start=\"4187\" data-end=\"4200\"\u003eDatousaurus\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem data-start=\"4205\" data-end=\"4217\"\u003eOmeisaurus\u003c\/em\u003e, small ornithopods such as \u003cem data-start=\"4245\" data-end=\"4257\"\u003eXiaosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e, and theropods such as \u003cem data-start=\"4281\" data-end=\"4293\"\u003eGasosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e. This faunal association reveals a diverse landscape in which \u003cem data-start=\"4356\" data-end=\"4372\"\u003eHuayangosaurus\u003c\/em\u003e occupied the ecological role of a medium-sized armoured herbivore, probably feeding at low vegetation levels while relying on its body armour, low profile and caudal spines for protection.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4563\" data-end=\"4612\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4563\" data-end=\"4612\"\u003eApproximate Huayangosaurus Replica Dimensions\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4614\" data-end=\"4725\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4614\" data-end=\"4645\"\u003e1:35 Scale — Complete Model\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4645\" data-end=\"4648\"\u003eLength: 103 mm\u003cbr data-start=\"4661\" data-end=\"4664\"\u003eHeight: 43 mm\u003cbr data-start=\"4677\" data-end=\"4680\"\u003eWidth: 37 mm\u003cbr data-start=\"4692\" data-end=\"4695\"\u003eSnout-to-tail length: 122 mm\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-start=\"4727\" data-end=\"4835\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\"\u003e\u003cstrong data-start=\"4727\" data-end=\"4756\"\u003e1:20 Scale — Assembly Kit\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cbr data-start=\"4756\" data-end=\"4759\"\u003eLength: 180 mm\u003cbr data-start=\"4773\" data-end=\"4776\"\u003eHeight: 75 mm\u003cbr data-start=\"4789\" data-end=\"4792\"\u003eWidth: 67 mm\u003cbr data-start=\"4804\" data-end=\"4807\"\u003eSnout-to-tail length: 215 mm\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Dino and Dog","offers":[{"title":"1:35 \/ Sin imprimar","offer_id":62075153219852,"sku":"DC-1572-135-SINI","price":30.3,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"1:35 \/ Imprimado","offer_id":62075153252620,"sku":"DC-1572-135-IMPRI","price":35.3,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"1:35 \/ Pintado a mano","offer_id":62075153285388,"sku":"DC-1572-135-PINTA","price":132.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"1:20 \/ Sin imprimar","offer_id":62075153318156,"sku":"DC-1572-120-SINI","price":47.9,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"1:20 \/ Imprimado","offer_id":62075153350924,"sku":"DC-1572-120-IMPRI","price":55.9,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"1:20 \/ Pintado a mano","offer_id":62075153383692,"sku":"DC-1572-120-PINTA","price":171.6,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0672\/1106\/7660\/files\/Huayangosaurus_7.jpg?v=1788971358","url":"https:\/\/dinosauriacreatures.com\/en\/products\/huayangosaurus-taibaii-1","provider":"Dinosauria Creatures","version":"1.0","type":"link"}