Gigantspinosaurus

dinosaur · Jurassic · China · spiky

Spiky Back Beast. Gigantspinosaurus was a stegosaur, meaning it had big plates and spikes running down its back like other members of its dinosaur family. These spikes were probably used to scare away predators or to show off to other dinosaurs.

Medium-Sized Dino. At about 4.2 meters (14 feet) long, Gigantspinosaurus was actually smaller than the really famous stegosaurs like Stegosaurus itself. Think of it as a compact version of its better-known cousins.

Chinese Dino. Gigantspinosaurus lived in what is now China during the Late Jurassic period, around 160 million years ago. Its fossils were found in the Upper Shaximiao Formation, which is a rock layer that holds many exciting dinosaur discoveries.

Jurassic Timeline. This dinosaur roamed Earth during the Oxfordian age, which was a time in the Late Jurassic when many different kinds of dinosaurs were thriving together. It lived alongside other amazing creatures in its ancient Chinese landscape.