Egg type
Changchunsaurus
Changchunsaurus is an egg type: the name is for the fossil eggs themselves. The animal that laid them is not known for certain. Its eggs are found in rocks 121.4–100.5 million years old in China.
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 12 October 2026- Named by
- Zan et al. 2005
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- S.-Q. Zan, J. Chen, L.-Y. Jin, T. Li (2005). A primitive ornithopod from the Early Cretaceous Quantou Formation of central Jilin, China. Vertebrata PalAsiatica 43(3): 182–193.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Zan et al. 2005).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.
- Dated to
- Aptian to Albian, 121.4–100.5 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation121.4–100.5 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordslow
low: Omnisaura's calculation from only 1 dated record(s).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Found in
- China
low
low: Only one PBDB record.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- Quantou
low
low: Only one PBDB record.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Canonical names, automatic and editor-approved matches applied.
- Egg family
- Thescelosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Parent group
- Thescelosauridae
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Known from
- Eggs
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
- Laid by
- Not known for certain. Eggs rarely show which animal laid them.
Gaps are answers
What isn't known yet
- The animal that laid them: not known for certain, as for most egg types.
- 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: 4 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): authority (PBDB); parent group (PBDB); family (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB).
Size, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
None open. Where our sources overlap, they agree on everything shown here.
Did it meet…?
No. Changchunsaurus 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.
Found in the same rocks
Genera and other fossil types from the same formations, from rocks of the same age.
Same family
Other genera in Thescelosauridae with a full profile.
Credits
Where this page comes from
- Paleobiology DatabaseCC BY 4.0 · fossil records, ages, classification
- WikidataCC0 1.0 · names and identifiers
- 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
Pictures linked from this page are credited beside each one, with their own licences; the full list is in the JSON download.