Bienosaurus

• China ( Asia)

• Bienosaurus lufengensis

Bienosaurus is a little-known genus of bird Beck dinosaurs of uncertain systematic position.

Features and dating

So far, only a lower jaw has been found with some teeth. These were small and leaf-shaped and aligned for a plant-based diet. Otherwise, nothing is known about this dinosaur.

The findings come from the Lufeng Formation in Yunnan Province, China, and was first described in 2001 by Dong Zhiming. They are dated to the Lower Jurassic in age 199-183 million years.

System

The systematic classification of Bienosaurus is difficult due to the scarcity of finds. It should belong to the Thyreophora, one by their bony scales and plates embossed dinosaur group, which include among others the Stegosauria and Ankylosauria. The teeth and the lower jaw are similar in construction to that of Scelidosaurus, a primitive representative of the Thyreophora. Therefore Bienosaurus is provided by some researchers along with this in my own family ( Scelidosauridae ).

For a reliable assignment but too little data is available, which is why Norman, Witmer and Weishampel lead him as " incertae sedis Thyreophora ".