A new species of armoured dinosaur has been discovered in China, according to a study recently published in the journal eLife by a group of researchers.
The remains of the ancient creature were originally found in 2017 in the Yuxi region of Yunnan Province, and research on the specimens began in 2019.
The dinosaur, named Yuxisaurus kopchicki, is a distant relative of the renowned Stegosaurus, and belongs to the thyreophoran group. It is also related to the Scelidosaurus and the Emausaurus - both of which originated in Europe during the Jurassic period
Yuxisaurus kopchicki likely lived 192 million to 174 million years ago, meaning it is the first thyreophoran from that period found in Asia.
"This is the first early armoured dinosaur to be named from the entire Asian continent and helps to show how the group spread around the world shortly after its origin just a few million years earlier", said Paul Barrett, author of the study and merit researcher at the Natural History Museum in London.
The animal likely spanned 6.6 to 9.8 feet (2 to 3 metres) in length and ate low-growing plants like ferns and cycads, according to the scientist. Massive bone plates protected Yuxisaurus, covering its neck, back, and limbs, with large spikes scattered on top.
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