Scientific Classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
SuperOrder: Dinosauria
Order: Ornithischia
SubOrder: Thyreophora
Family: Huayangosauridae
Genus: Huayangosaurus

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Huayangosaurus is a dinosaur which belongs to the smaller plated category and huayangosauridaes class. It was known to have been lived earlier than its larger cousins (i.e.) during the Jurassic period. The term Huayangosaurus is a Greek word and the meaning of the word is ‘Huayang lizard' and it also means reptile from Huayang. The term is pronounced as Hwa-yang-oh-sore-us. These dinosaurs were known to be lived around 165 million years ago. They tended to be lived in the woodlands of the continent of Asia, particularly in China.

Researchers believe that the later plated dinosaurs must have been evolved from smaller Huayangosaurus. The remains were found from Dashanpu Quarry near Zigong in Sichuan and the remains belonged to twelve different Huayangosaurus. The remains of the dinosaur showed that it might have had a series of plates on its back starting from head to tail. The plates might have been appeared as spikes as the end of the tail. The tail had four large and sharp spikes and it might have had two sharp spikes above its hips. The Huayangosaurus might have used these spikes for protecting itself from enemies and it is also regarded that the spikes might have been used by these dinosaurs for attracting the mate. Apart from these the spikes might have helped the Huayangosaurus to regulate the temperature of the body. It is known to be plant eater. It had two short front legs, a broad skull, long slender head and two longer hind legs. The appearance of Huayangosaurus might have been such that it can easily bend its head towards the ground and swallow the plants. The tooth of the dinosaur helped it to swallow the plants easily. It might have been twelve to fourteen feet (i.e.) four meters long and it might have weighed around 1200 pounds (i.e.) 500 Kilograms.

Huayangosaurus lived in the land of rivers, lush vegetation and lakes. Scientists have found that it would have been plant eater with the help of its teeth.

Comparison between Huayangosaurus and stegosaurs:

It has also been found that the skull of the Huayangosaurus might have had a small opening in each half of the lower jaw and in front of each eye. Both these openings were not found in the dinosaurs, which belonged to the later era like stegosaurs. At the front of its nose, the Huayangosaurus had seven teeth on each side making it a total of fourteen, but stegosaurs did not had these teeth. Huayangosaurus had two rows of armor plates, which was thicker and smaller as compared to stegosaurs. Huayangosaurus were short in height as compared to the stegosaurs.

As said earlier Huayangosaurus lived during the Jurassic period (i.e.) in the middle of the Jurassic period with other dinosaurs like datousaurus, protognathosaurus, xiaosaurus, ornithopod, shunosaurus, omeisaurus and gasosaurus. The skeleton of Huayangosaurus is being mounted at the municipal museum of Chongging in Sichuan province and the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Zigong; both these museums are located in China.

Hope, you might have understood about the Huayangosaurus and its appearance.

Just for fun we have a soundclip available for you to hear what a Huayangosaurus could've sounded like. Click to the Dinosaur Sounds area to hear it. Please note that the dinosaur sounds are only for entertainment and are not an actual fact.