#chaoyangsaurus

20 minute design sketches from tonight's Jurassic Pokemon Showdown art collab stream with @corgi-nub !

My pokemon were ESPlate - poison/psychic type

Dilophyre - fire/fighting type

By Jack Wood 

Etymology: Reptile from Chaoyang

First Described By: Zhao, Cheng, & Xu; 1999

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Ornithischia, Genasauria, Neornithischia, Cerapoda, Marginocephalia, Ceratopsia, Chaoyangsauridae  

Status: Extinct

Time and Place: Sometime between 151 and 146 million years ago, in the Tithonian of the Late Jurassic 

Chaoyangsaurus is known from the Tuchengzi Formation of Liaoning, China 

Physical Description: Chaoyangsaurus was a small, bipedal herbivore - like so many other dinosaurs from the time - but differed from its close cousins in some important ways. Namely, it had a distinct top beak to go with the lower beak, that was slightly hooked; and in addition to that, it had a ridge on the back of its head. These two factors signal out the little guy for what it was - one of the earliest known Ceratopsians! This famed, iconic group of dinosaurs really got their start from such humble beginnings as Chaoyangsaurus. It would have had longer legs than arms, and run about bipedally - with a slightly larger head for the rest of its body. It may have been completely fluffy - like other small bipedal herbivores - or had distinctive quills on its tail, like it’s later relative Psittacosaurus. Either way, it would have had fluff in some form. Chaoyangsaurus was quite small, only about a meter long.

Diet: As a small Ornithischian, Chaoyangsaurus would have primarily fed upon low-lying plants such as ferns. 

By Nobu Tamura, CC BY 3.0 

Behavior: Chaoyangsaurus would have been a fairly skittish animal, running about in its environment attempting to avoid predators with speed rather than defense. Though that beak would have been good at snipping off tough vegetation, it wouldn’t have been the best in defense from larger predators. However, that ridge on the back of its skull may have provided extra defense for the head if something knocked into it. Chaoyangsaurus was probably at least a little social - since most small bipedal Ornithischians seemed to be so - using calls and notice from the other members of the flock to escape predators. The quills it may have had would have been good for display, so it could signal to each other that they were looking for mates and the like. It would have taken care of its young, which would have been even smaller! Too cute to process, really!

Ecosystem: Chaoyangsaurus lived in the Tuchengzi Environment, a late Jurassic environment from far western China. In fact, it is a transitional environment between the famed Daohugou Biota - a showcase for small, fluffy animals of the Mid Jurassic - and the even more famed Jehol Biota - a showcase for the small, fluffy animals of the Early Cretaceous. This transitional environment was not as lush, not as well preserved, and extremely dry - seemingly, semi-arid. This dry environment lead to the extinction of the unique and beautiful Daohugou auna. It was also more poorly preserved at this time, though clearly dinosaurs and other life forms were around (as Chaoyangsaurus was). Chaoyangosaurus was probably primarily preyed upon by a mysterious Raptor, from which we only have footprints; there was also a small general theropod present, and the small pterosaur Orientognathus. This environment would eventually grow lush again - and with it, small fluffy creatures would explode into amazing abundance once more. 

By José Carlos Cortés 

Other: Chaoyangsaurus shows the start animals like Triceratops and company really had - as these small, nippy bipedal creatures, running around in the undergrowth of the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, trying to escape the larger predators! The quadrupedal stance, large frills, and horns would come much later - the giant horns, not until the Late Cretaceous.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources Under the Cut 

I LOVE THESE GUYS TOO! I have so many favorites! I love all the dinosaurs.

My final sketch of the prehistoric pokemon challenge is of Chaoyogwai, which incorporates the grass and ghost types with a chaoyangsaurus.

By Jack Wood on @thewoodparable

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Name: Chaoyangsaurus youngi

Name Meaning: Chaoyang Reptile

First Described: 1999

Described By: Zhao, Cheng, & Xu

Classification: Dinosauria, Ornithischia, Genasauria, Neornithischia, Cerapoda, Marginocephalia, Ceratopsia

Chaoyangsaurus is an early derived Ceratopsian from the Late Jurassic, approximately 148 million years ago in the Tithonian age. As such, it is another representative of the earliest members of the Ceratopsian group, and thus shows what the most basal members were like. It was found in the Tuchengzi Formation in Liaoning, China, and is known from a partial skeleton what only includes part of the skull. It probably would have been only about a meter long. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaoyangsaurus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tuchengzi_Formation