Although Hollywood filmed "Jurassic World", the real Jurassic is in China!

Everyone must have seen the movie "Jurassic World", right? But did you know that most of the dinosaurs in the movie did not actually live in the Jurassic period, with the most familiar Tyrannosaurus Rex being the first to bear the brunt!

That's right, Tyrannosaurus Rex lived in the Cretaceous period, and other creatures that lived with it in the Cretaceous period included Triceratops, Velociraptor, Styracosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Parasaurolophus, Gallimimus, Ankylosaurus, Baryonyx, etc. It was said that "Jurassic World" should have been called "Cretaceous World".

But the real "Jurassic World" is not far from us, and it is in China. China is currently the country with the largest number of dinosaur species discovered in the world, accounting for one-third of the total number of dinosaur species discovered worldwide. There is more than one "Jurassic World" in China, so where is China's "Jurassic World"?

Image source: Pixabay

01Yunnan: China's dinosaur research started here

China's Yunnan Province plays a very important role in the field of paleontological research, because not only was the ancestor of vertebrates, the Haikouichthys, discovered here, but it is also the birthplace of the earliest known dinosaur fossils in China. The most famous of these is the Lufengosaurus xuyi, known as the "First Dragon of China". It is the first dinosaur excavated, restored, studied and displayed by us Chinese ourselves.

The researcher of Xu's Lufengosaurus is Mr. Yang Zhongjian, a famous paleontologist in my country. In order to thank the German paleontologist Schnaith for his help in the study of dinosaurs, he named Lufengosaurus "Xu's".

Xu's Lufengosaurus is not only known as the "No. 1 Dragon in China", it also has a world-first title as the protagonist of the world's first dinosaur stamp.

The world's first dinosaur stamp was issued by China People's Post in Beijing on April 15, 1958. This time, three stamps were issued, namely Songlishan Trilobite (representative of the Paleozoic Era), Lufengosaurus xusii (representative of the Mesozoic Era), and Scutellaria xusii (representative of the Cenozoic Era). The image of Lufengosaurus xusii is also depicted on the first day cover of this set of stamps, which shows the status of Lufengosaurus xusii in the field of dinosaur research in China.

Of course, in addition to the Lufengosaurus, there is another dinosaur in Yunnan that will make you unforgettable for the rest of your life. It is the Chinese dragon (synonym: Chinese Dilophosaurus). The Chinese dragon was discovered and named by paleontologist Mr. Yang Zhongjian in 1948. It has two ridges on its head and belongs to the theropod family.

02 Sichuan and Chongqing: Jurassic Dinosaur Park

Many people don’t know that in addition to spicy hotpot and skewers, Chongqing and Sichuan in southwest China were also a paradise for dinosaurs during the Jurassic period.

Chongqing is famous for three dinosaur stars, namely, Yongchuanosaurus shangyou, Mamenchisaurus hechuan, and Chongqingosaurus jiangbei. Careful readers may have noticed that they all have the place name of Chongqing in their names, but what you don't know is that these three star dinosaurs have a high status in the entire dinosaur family!

Youshang Yongchuansaurus is the undisputed overlord of the Jurassic period and the first relatively complete large theropod dinosaur discovered in Asia. What is rare is that its skull is very well preserved. It is now on display in the Dinosaur Hall of Chongqing Natural History Museum and is the treasure of the museum.

Mamenchisaurus Hechuan is the dinosaur with the longest neck proportion discovered in the world. Its neck accounts for half of its total body length, truly achieving "all legs below the neck".

Although many people don't know about Jiangbei Chongqingsaurus, I believe you will not forget this name after reading this, because it is named after the city of Chongqing. At the same time, it also has a world record - it is the smallest stegosaurus found in the world. Unlike the stegosaurus in the movie "Jurassic World" (the armored stegosaurus in North America), Jiangbei Chongqingsaurus is 3 to 4 meters long and has eight tail spines on its tail, which are about 25 centimeters long. The armored stegosaurus is about 8 meters long and has four tail spines on its tail, which are 1 meter long. Therefore, Jiangbei Chongqingsaurus is also known as the "little one" in the stegosaurus family.

The comparison between the dinosaurs in Sichuan and Chongqing proves the old saying that "Sichuan and Chongqing are one family". You may not imagine that although the dinosaurs found in Chongqing and Sichuan are of different species, the dinosaurs found are almost identical in appearance. The Sichuanosaurus Ganshen found in Sichuan looks like the Yongchuanosaurus upstream, and the Tianfu Emeisaurus found in Sichuan has a long neck and a long tail like the Mamenchisaurus. Of course, the Taibai Huayangosaurus and the multi-spined Tuojiangosaurus belonging to the stegosaurus were also found in Sichuan, and they look like enlarged versions of the Chongqingosaurus in Jiangbei.

Image source: Pixabay

03 Liaoning: A treasure trove of feathered dinosaurs

Liaoning is known as "the place where the world's first bird took off" because dozens of feathered dinosaurs and ancient birds have been discovered here. The discovery of these feathered elves provided sufficient evidence to verify the "birds originated from dinosaurs hypothesis" and to reconstruct biological evolution, and also made paleontologists around the world focus their attention on China at that time.

In 1995, the first feathered dinosaur in China, Sinosauropteryx, was discovered. The discovery of Sinosauropteryx is like a key that opens the "Jurassic World" of Liaoning, allowing us to see that Liaoning was colorful more than 100 million years ago. Scientists have restored the feather color of the feathered dinosaurs in Liaoning.

The first dinosaur whose feather color was restored was Anchiornis huxleyi. Don't underestimate it, it is the current holder of the "Guinness World Record" - because Anchiornis huxleyi is the earliest feathered dinosaur discovered in the world, and the "Huxley" in its name is to commemorate the paleontologist Huxley who proposed the "birds originated from dinosaurs hypothesis."

Chinese paleontologists have successfully restored the feather color of Anchiornis hercules by using scanning electron microscopy. Using the same technology, scientists have also restored the crow-like Microraptor. At this point, some people may ask, are feathered dinosaurs originally black or white? Of course not. In 2019, a dinosaur research team in China successfully restored a dinosaur with colorful clothes - the giant spiny dragon.

By comparing the shapes of the chromatin bodies on the body of the giant-backed Rainbow Dragon, it was found that it had the red of Andrews's hummingbird, the blue of the white-tailed star-fronted hummingbird, the green of the black-banded hummingbird, and the gray of the whiskered swift. The combination of so many colors makes the giant-backed Rainbow Dragon the most beautiful dinosaur star in Liaoning's "Jurassic Period".

Although China started late in dinosaur research, its dinosaur research results have attracted worldwide attention in the past 20 years. As of December 2023, China has studied and named 343 species of dinosaurs, making it the country with the largest number of discovered and named dinosaur species in the world.

When you see various kinds of dinosaurs in movies and books, don’t forget that in Yunnan, China, there was a kind of dinosaur called the Chinese dragon. Two hundred million years later, a group of people appeared on this vast land. They were called "Descendants of the Dragon."

About the Author:

Source: Chongqing Science and Technology Museum

Author: Jiang Jinkai, dinosaur researcher at Chongqing Natural History Museum and member of the China Science Writers Association; Wei Zhaoying, geological and mineral engineer of the 208 Geological Team of the Chongqing Municipal Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.

Audit expert: Li Chunli

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