The new dinosaur is Archaeocursor asiaticus, identified from a nearly complete left thigh bone found in Chongqing, southwestern China. Xi Yao and colleagues’ 2025 study proposes that it is the earliest-diverging ornithischian yet discovered in Asia, but the authors say that evolutionary placement has weak support. The fossil may help clarify when these plant-eating dinosaurs reached East Asia; it does not establish a definitive record-holder for Asia’s oldest herbivorous dinosaur.
What was discovered?
Archaeocursor asiaticus is a newly named ornithischian dinosaur described by Xi Yao and colleagues in a paper published online in iScience on 17 January 2025. The fossil, catalogued as holotype L01-HY999, is a nearly complete left femur—the upper leg bone. The species is known from this single described bone, not a complete skeleton.
The femur was found near Congyansi subway station in Yubei District, Chongqing Municipality, southwestern China. It comes from the Dongyuemiao Member of the Ziliujing Formation. The primary study is available at Yao et al., “New evidence for the earliest ornithischian dinosaurs from Asia,” iScience (2025).
How old is the fossil?
The authors assign the fossil to the Early Jurassic, within the late Sinemurian–Pliensbachian interval. The Dongyuemiao Member is generally treated as Pliensbachian on the basis of regional stratigraphy and geological context, while geochemical and palynological evidence allows for a late Sinemurian to early Pliensbachian age. That uncertainty matters: the evidence supports a stage-level range, not one exact age in millions of years.
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- Chasmosaurus is a genus of Late Cretaceous ornithischian ceratopsian dinosaur found mainly in North America.
- Chasmosaurus closely resembled Triceratops in appearance but was smaller in size and was a pure herbivore.
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What does “Asia’s oldest” mean here?
The study’s claim is specifically about evolutionary branching: its phylogenetic analysis places Archaeocursor as the earliest-diverging ornithischian dinosaur yet discovered in Asia. Yao and colleagues explicitly qualify that result as weakly supported. It should not be simplified to “the oldest herbivorous dinosaur in Asia” as though every early plant-eating dinosaur had been compared and the ranking were settled.
“Earliest-diverging” describes a proposed position near the base of an evolutionary group; it does not necessarily mean the individual fossil is older than every other dinosaur fossil in the region. The conclusion also depends on both the fossil’s age assignment and how its anatomy is interpreted in the evolutionary analysis.
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- Chasmosaurus is a genus of Late Cretaceous ornithischian ceratopsian dinosaur found mainly in North America.
- Chasmosaurus closely resembled Triceratops in appearance but was smaller in size and was a pure herbivore.
- This model of Chasmosaurus is a 1:35 scientific restoration model that combines artistic creation and design. Bringing prehistoric civilization to our eyes.
- This product is a scientific reductive model that is perfect for educational purposes, endangered species awareness, environmental awareness, as well as gaining a deeper knowledge of actual animals.
- Not only is it the perfect gift for dinosaur lovers, but it also makes a great birthday present and is suitable for family surprises and educational institutions.
What can the femur tell us about the animal?
Histological analysis of the femur suggests the animal was a young adult when it died. Based on the bone, the authors estimate its body length at approximately 1 metre. This is a reconstruction from one individual’s femur, not a direct measurement of a complete skeleton or a population-wide size estimate.
Could it change the story of dinosaur dispersal?
If the age assignment is correct, the fossil indicates ornithischians were present in East Asia by the Pliensbachian, and possibly as early as the late Sinemurian. The authors say the result is consistent with a dispersal from Gondwana into Laurasia. That is a possible explanation of the fossil’s place and age—not a migration observed directly in the rock record, nor a settled route or timeline.
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- Meet Fergus the Acrocanthosaurus, a 12.8-inch PNSO Prehistoric Animal Models display model reconstructed from a large carcharodontosaurid predator approximately 11 meters long.
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Is this the same dinosaur as Yuxisaurus?
No. Yuxisaurus kopchicki is a separate dinosaur described from Yunnan. The Natural History Museum’s account identifies it as an early Asian armoured dinosaur and notes that it was not the earliest-known member of its group. The museum’s article is about Yuxisaurus, not Archaeocursor: Natural History Museum, “New species is earliest armoured dinosaur described from Asia” (15 March 2022).
The two discoveries should be distinguished by their fossils, geological settings and claims. Archaeocursor is known from a single femur and has a weakly supported proposed position among ornithischians; the cited museum account concerns a different, armoured dinosaur. Neither source establishes a definitive ranking of every early herbivorous dinosaur in Asia.
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