Dinosaur genus
Yunnanosaurus
Yunnanosaurus is a dinosaur genus known from bones, found in rocks 201.4–184.2 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
- Young 1940
disputed
low: Sources disagree and an editor has not ruled yet.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Described in
- C.-C. Young (1940). Preliminary notes on the Lufeng vertebrate fossils. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 20(3-4): 235–239.
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; its author and year match the naming authority (Young 1940).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
- Hettangian to Pliensbachian, 201.4–184.2 million years ago
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Omnisaura calculation201.4–184.2 million years ago, from its dated fossil recordsmedium
medium: Omnisaura's calculation from 15 confirmed PBDB records.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Fossils found in
- China
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (15 records).Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: Union of all sources (ISO 3166).
- Rock formations
- LufengFengjiahe
medium
medium: Only PBDB records it (14 records).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.
- Parent group
- Sauropodiformes
medium
medium: Only PBDB gives this; nothing contradicts it.Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database. How it was chosen: PBDB leads.
- Known from
- Bones
Sources
Given by: Paleobiology Database (what the name was based on).
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.
- Family: 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.
- Held back: 2 fossil records left out: identified only tentatively (for example "cf." or "?").
- Resting on one source: 2 facts come from a single source with nothing against them (rated medium): parent group (PBDB); age (headline) (PBDB).
Size, diet and behaviour aren't covered yet. Omnisaura leaves them out rather than guess.
Where sources disagree
1 openAuthority
- Young 1940PBDB (shown above)
- Yang Zhongjian, 1942Wikidata
The sources give different values. An editor hasn't ruled yet, so this is rated low until they do.
Did it meet…?
No. Yunnanosaurus had gone at least 100.6 million years before Tyrannosaurus appears in the fossil record, a longer gap than the 66 million years between Tyrannosaurus and today.
Going by the ages and rock formations of their dated fossils, as on the map. Compare their fossil sites on the map.
Lived alongside
Genera found in the same rock formations, from rocks of the same age.
Same parent group
Other genera in Sauropodiformes 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.