Discover 8 Dinosaurs That Start With Y

Written by Patrick MacFarland
Published: January 9, 2024
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This Earth is millions upon millions of years old and there have been many organisms living on the planet. Humans were not the first to arrive. Instead, they evolved from other living creatures. Among the creatures that inhabited this planet were dinosaurs. Dinosaurs ruled the Earth as one of the most feared and majestic creatures. As shown in the Jurassic Park movies, dinosaurs are interesting creatures to study. They have fascinated archaeologists and children alike. Many types of dinosaurs have roamed this Earth. Let’s take a look at the eight dinosaurs that start with Y. 

1. Yandusaurus

Yandusaurus_reconstruction

Found in 1979, a Chinese archaeologist by the name of He named the

Yandusaurus

dinosaur.

©Raingerr, CC BY-SA 4.0 – License

The Yandosaurus dinosaur was a herbivore. It stood to be about 9.8 feet tall and it was a small ornithopod. Furthermore, it lived in the mid-Jurassic period, about 160 million years ago. Archaeologists found this dinosaur in China and named it as such after the Zigong, the area where it was found.

2. Yangchuanosaurus

Yangchuanosaurus_skeleton

The

Yangchuanosaurus

dinosaur was found by archaeologists named Dong, Chang, Li, and Zhou in 1978.

©★Kumiko★, CC BY-SA 2.0 – License

The ferocious Yangchuanosaurus dinosaur was a carnivore during the time it lived. The dinosaur was a large theropod and it stood to be 32.8 feet tall. Furthermore, the Yangchuanosaurus dinosaur lived in the late Jurassic period, 150 million years ago.  Lastly, archaeologists found this dinosaur in China and named it after the Yongchuan area where the dinosaur was found.

3. Yimenosaurus

Measuring 25 feet, the Yimenosaurus dinosaur was a prosauropod. Moreover, the dinosaur was a herbivore and it lived in the early Jurassic period, about 190 million years ago. Archaeologists found this dinosaur in China in 1990 where there were 10 partial skeletons found, as well as a skull. They named it as such after Yimen County in the Yunnan Province.

4. Yingshanosaurus

The Yingshanosaurus dinosaur, otherwise known as the Mount Ying lizard, was an armored dinosaur. It lived during the late Jurassic period, about 150 million years ago. Furthermore, the Yingshanosaurus dinosaur was a herbivore. Lastly, archaeologists found this dinosaur in China and named it after the Yingshan county where they found the bones.

5. Yinlong

Yinlong dinosaur skull

The

Yinlong

dinosaur was found in 2006 and named by archeologists Xu, Clark, Mo, and Forster. They classified it as a downsi species of dinosaur.

©Kabacchi / Flickr – License

Nicknamed “The Hidden Dragon”, the Yinlong was a tinier dinosaur that was only 4 feet tall. It was a herbivore that lived in the mid-Jurassic period, about 155 million years ago. Moreover, archaeologists found this dinosaur in China. Interestingly enough, the Yinlong dinosaur is a ceratopsian and one of the earliest ceratopsians to be found.

6. Yuanmousaurus

Scientists named the Yuanmousaurus dinosaur for the area where they found the dinosaur. Coming from the sauropod family, the dinosaur is one of those extremely tall ones. Furthermore, with a whopping length of 55 feet, the Yuanmousaurus dinosaur was a herbivore that lived in the mid-Jurassic period, about 170 million years ago. Lastly, archeologists found the partial skeletons in China.

7. Yunnanosaurus

A famous bend of yangtze river in Yunnan Province, China, first curve of yangtze river , Lijiang

There were about 20

Yunnanosaurus

dinosaur skeletons found in the Yunnan province (pictured above) that belonged to both adult and child dinosaurs.

©martinho Smart/Shutterstock.com

Otherwise known as the Yunnan lizard, the Yunnanosaurus dinosaur was a unique omnivore that ate both plants and other living creatures. It measured up to 22.9 feet tall, which means it towered over many of the other dinosaurs. Furthermore, it lived in the early Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago. Archeologists discovered the Yunnanosaurus dinosaur in China in 1942 and classified it as the Huangi type of dinosaur species.

8. Yutyrannus

The

Yutyrannus

dinosaur means “feathered tyrant,” with the name coming from both Mandarin Chinese and Latin.

©Megaraptor-The-Allo, CC0 – License

Nicknamed the “feathered tyrant,” the Yutyrannus dinosaur was a large theropod that scientists found in northern China. Measuring up to 24.6 feet tall, the dinosaur weighed a whopping 2,425 pounds. Moreover, the Yutyrannus dinosaur was carnivorous and it lived in the early Cretaceous period, about 125 million years ago. Fascinatingly enough, archeologists discovered that, although part of the Tyrannosauridae family of dinosaurs, the Yutyrannus had longer arms and three fingers on each hand.

Much is known about the Yutyrannus dinosaur, including that it had two horns near its eyes, as well as it being feathered. That’s right. The Yutyrannus dinosaur was the biggest dinosaur known to have feathers. Scientists, however, do not know if it was wholly covered in feathers or just had them in various parts of its body. Furthermore, a total of three Yunnanosaurus dinosaur specimens were found near each other, which means that this dinosaur could have been part of a pack of hunting dinosaurs.

Conclusion

And there you have it, these are the eight dinosaurs that start with Y. Scientists found these dinosaurs in various places around China. The archaeologists who study dinosaurs and travel all over the world to dig up places are among the world’s brightest individuals. Archaeologists have been able to study what dinosaurs looked like, what they ate, and other things about them. Dinosaurs will forever live as some of the most fascinating creatures on the planet.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Orla/Shutterstock.com


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About the Author

Patrick Macfarland is a writer at A-Z Animals primarily covering travel, geography, and history. Patrick has been writing for more than 10 years. In the past, he has been a teacher and a political candidate. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from SDSU and a Master's Degree in European Union Studies from CIFE. From San Diego, California, Patrick loves to travel and try new recipes to cook.

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