Changmiania

Last updated

Changmiania
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Barremian
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Changmiania liaoningensis.png
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Ornithopoda
Genus: Changmiania
Yang et al., 2020
Species:
C. liaoningensis
Binomial name
Changmiania liaoningensis
Yang et al., 2020

Changmiania (from the Chinese "changmian", meaning "eternal sleep") is a genus of basal ornithopod dinosaur that lived in what is now China during the Early Cretaceous. It contains a single species, Changmiania liaoningensis.

Contents

Discovery and naming

The taxon is represented by two near-complete articulated skeletons: the holotype specimen, PMOL AD00114; and a referred specimen, PMOL LFV022. These remains were discovered in the Barremian age, 123.2 million years old, Lujiatun Beds of the Yixian Formation by local farmers and partially prepared. They were acquired by the Paleontological Museum of Liaoning at Shenyang, which completed the preparation. No indications were found that the fossils had been tampered with by fossil thieves. The perfect life-like positions of these specimens suggest that they were buried alive, possibly in their own burrows due to a volcanic eruption. [1]

In 2020, the type species Changmiania liaoningensis was named and described by Yang Yuqing, Wu Wenhao, Paul-Emile Dieudonné and Pascal Godefroit. The generic name is derived from 長眠 (cháng mián), "eternal sleep" in Chinese, referring to the possible sleep position the fossils were found in. The specific name refers to the provenance from Liaoning. [1]

Description

Size comparison Changmiania Scale.svg
Size comparison

The holotype specimen has a preserved length of 117 centimetres. [1]

The describing authors established some distinguishing traits. Some of these were autapomorphies, unique derived characters. The frontal bones are elongated, over four times longer than wide. The parietals do not share a midline crest. The front branch of the squamosal bone is straight and elongated. On the upper rear corner of the squamosal a distinctive boss is present. The lower edge of the dentary is convex but the edge of the angular bone is strongly concave, resulting in a sinuous profile for the lower jaw as a whole. The neural spines of the sacral vertebrae are fused into a continuous elongated plate. Both the lower and upper end of the shoulder blade is asymmetrically expanded. The paired ilia are upwards and inwards inclined, covering the sacrum in top view. The upper part of the calfbone is as robust as that of the shinbone. [1]

The neck was very short, with only six vertebrae; other ornithischians usually have nine. [1]

Phylogeny

In their phylogenetic analysis, Yang et al. (2020) recovered Chiangmiania as the basalmost ornithopod. The cladogram below follows their results: [1]

Neornithischia

Agilisaurus louderbacki

Hexinlusaurus multidens

Cerapoda

Kulindadromeus zabaikalicus

Marginocephalia

Ornithopoda

Changmiania liaoningensis

Orodrominae

Zephyrosaurus schaffi

Orodromeus makelai

Yueosaurus tiantaiensis

Koreanosaurus boseongensis

Jeholosaurinae

Haya griva

Jeholosaurus shangyuanensis

Changchunsaurus parvus

Yandusaurus hongheensis

Nanosaurus agilis

Clypeodonta
Parksosaurinae

Hypsilophodon foxii

Parksosaurus warreni

Gasparinisaura cincosaltensis

Thescelosaurus assiniboiensis

Thescelosaurus neglectus

Iguanodontia

Paleobiology

Changmiania probably dug burrows, like several other small ornithischians such as Oryctodromeus . Several of its anatomical features, such as its short neck, short forearm and hands, and enlarged shoulder bones are probably adaptations for digging. [1]

Related Research Articles

<i>Lesothosaurus</i> Extinct genus of ornithischian dinosaur

Lesothosaurus is a monospecific genus of ornithischian dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic in what is now South Africa and Lesotho. It was named by paleontologist Peter Galton in 1978, the name meaning "lizard from Lesotho". The genus has only one valid species, Lesothosaurus diagnosticus. Lesothosaurus is one of the most completely-known early ornithischians, based on numerous skull and postcranial fossils from the Upper Elliot Formation. It had a simpler tooth and jaw anatomy than later ornithischians, and may have been omnivorous in some parts of the year.

<i>Beipiaosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Beipiaosaurus is a genus of therizinosauroid theropod dinosaurs that lived in Asia during the Early Cretaceous in the Yixian Formation. The first remains were found in 1996 and formally described in 1999. Before the discovery of Yutyrannus, Beipiaosaurus were among the heaviest dinosaurs known from direct evidence to be feathered. Beipiaosaurus is known from three reported specimens. Numerous impressions of feather structures were preserved that allowed researchers to determine the feathering color which, turned out to be brownish.

<i>Crichtonsaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Crichtonsaurus is a genus of herbivorous ankylosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now China. It was named after Michael Crichton, the author of the dinosaur novel Jurassic Park. A sister taxon was discovered, C. benxiensis, which is now identified as a separate genus.

<i>Pinacosaurus</i> Genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from Late Cretaceous

Pinacosaurus is a genus of ankylosaurid thyreophoran dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous, mainly in Mongolia and China.

<i>Changchunsaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Changchunsaurus is an extinct genus of small herbivorous dinosaur from Early Cretaceous deposits of Gongzhuling, Jilin, China. It is the first named dinosaur genus from Jilin.

<i>Kangnasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Kangnasaurus is a genus of iguanodontian ornithopod dinosaur found in supposedly Early Cretaceous rocks of South Africa. It is known from a tooth and possibly some postcranial remains found in the early-Aptian Kalahari Deposits Formation. It was probably similar to Dryosaurus.

<i>Sinovenator</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Sinovenator is a genus of troodontid dinosaur from China. It is from the early Cretaceous Period.

<i>Liaoningosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Liaoningosaurus is an unusual genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Liaoning Province, China that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now the Yixian and Jiufotang Formation. The type and only species, Liaoningosaurus paradoxus, is known from more than 20 specimens, with some representing juveniles. It was named in 2001 by Xu, Wang and You.

<i>Jeholosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Jeholosaurus is a genus of neornithischian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period. It is thought to have been a herbivorous small ornithopod.

Shanxia is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Shanxi Province that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now the Huiquanpu Formation. Shanxia may possibly represent a junior synonym of Tianzhenosaurus, an ankylosaurine also known from the Huiquanpu Formation of China.

<i>Alaskacephale</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Alaskacephale is an extinct genus of pachycephalosaurid, a group of dome-headed, herbivorous ornithischian dinosaurs, that lived during the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now northern Alaska. The genus is one of the few known Arctic dinosaurs and was found in the Prince Creek Formation, which preserves a menagerie of fossils. The only known specimen, a squamosal bone, was found in 1999 and later described in 2005. However, Alaskacephale was not formally named until the next year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heterodontosauridae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Heterodontosauridae is a family of ornithischian dinosaurs that were likely among the most basal (primitive) members of the group. Their phylogenetic placement is uncertain but they are most commonly found to be primitive, outside of the group Genasauria. Although their fossils are relatively rare and their group small in numbers, they have been found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica, with a range spanning the Early Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.

<i>Bolong</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Bolong is a genus of iguanodontian dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous-age Yixian Formation of western Liaoning Province, China. It lived about 125 million years ago in the earliest Aptian.

<i>Koreanosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Koreanosaurus is a genus of orodromine neornithischian dinosaur. One species has been described, Koreanosaurus boseongensis.

Hexing is an extinct genus of basal ornithomimosaur dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of northeastern China. It contains a single species, Hexing qingyi.

<i>Trinisaura</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Trinisaura is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived during the late Campanian stage of the Upper Cretaceous, around 73 to 72 million years ago in what is now James Ross Island off the coast of northern Antarctica near Patagonia. It is known from a single, incomplete postcranial skeleton that includes several vertebrae, a partial pelvis, and nearly complete right hindlimb. The fossils were collected in 2008 by paleontologists Juan Moly and Rodolfo Coria from the sandstone of the Snow Hill Island Formation. It remained undescribed in the collections of the Museo de La Plata until its description by Coria and colleagues in 2013, being the basis of the novel genus and species Trinisaura santamartaensis. The genus name is to commemorate the efforts of Argentine geologist Trinidad "Trini" Diaz and the Latin root -sauros, meaning "lizard". The species name is after Santa Marta Cove, where the fossils were collected.

<i>Jianchangosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Jianchangosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurian dinosaur that lived approximately 126 million years ago during the early part of the Cretaceous Period from the Yixian Formation in what is now China. The nearly complete juvenile specimen was missing only the distal tail. Jianchangosaurus was a small, lightly built, bipedal, ground-dwelling herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 2 m (6.6 ft) long and was 1 m (3.3 ft) high at the hips.

<i>Laquintasaura</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Laquintasaura is a genus of Venezuelan ornithischian dinosaur containing only the type species Laquintasaura venezuelae. The species was the first dinosaur to have been identified from Venezuela. It is known from extensive remains, all from a singular bonebed locality which has been sampled for specimen blocks over the course of several expeditions, largely led by Marcelo R Sánchez-Villagra. A small, very primitive animal, it is known for its distinct dental anatomy and for being one of the earliest and most primitive ornithischians in the fossil record. Taxonomic uncertainty has led to conflicting theories that it is either as the base of Ornithischia or at the base of the subgroup Thyreophora. In either model, its dating to around 200 million years ago, at the start of the Jurassic, existence in equatorial latitudes, and primitive nature make it a key view into early ornithischian evolution. It's thought that Laquintasaura would've lived in groups and had a possible omnivorous diet, living on a seasonal alluvial plain and being preyed about by the contemporary Tachiraptor.

<i>Daliansaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Daliansaurus is a genus of small troodontid theropod dinosaur, measuring approximately 1 metre long, from the Early Cretaceous of China. It contains a single species, D. liaoningensis, named in 2017 by Shen and colleagues from a nearly complete skeleton preserved in three dimensions. Daliansaurus is unusual in possessing an enlarged claw on the fourth digit of the foot, in addition to the "sickle claw" found on the second digit of the feet of most paravians. It also has long metatarsal bones, and apparently possesses bird-like uncinate processes. In the Lujiatun Beds of the Yixian Formation, a volcanically-influenced region with a cold climate, Daliansaurus lived alongside its closest relatives - Sinovenator, Sinusonasus, and Mei, with which it forms the group Sinovenatorinae.

<i>Liaoningvenator</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Liaoningvenator is a genus of troodontid theropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China. It contains a single species, L. curriei, named after paleontologist Phillip J. Currie in 2017 by Shen Cai-Zhi and colleagues from an articulated, nearly complete skeleton, one of the most complete troodontid specimens known. Shen and colleagues found indicative traits that placed Liaoningvenator within the Troodontidae. These traits included its numerous, small, and closely packed teeth, as well as the vertebrae towards the end of its tail having shallow grooves in place of neural spines on their top surfaces.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Yang, Y.; Wu, W.; Dieudonné, P.; Godefroit, P. (2020). "A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China". PeerJ. 8: e9832. doi: 10.7717/peerj.9832 . PMC   7485509 . PMID   33194351.