Daanosaurus

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Daanosaurus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 163–145  Ma
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Eusauropoda
Genus: Daanosaurus
Ye, Gao, & Jiang, 2005
Type species
Daanosaurus zhangi
Ye, Gao, & Jiang, 2005

Daanosaurus (meaning "Da'an lizard" after Da'an district in Zigong, Sichuan) was a genus of dinosaur. It was a sauropod which lived during the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian - Tithonian stage, about 163 - 145 mya). It lived in what is now China (Sichuan Province), and was similar to Bellusaurus . [1]

Contents

Description

The type species from the Upper Shaximiao Formation was described in 2005 as Daanosaurus zhangi. [2] Adult size is unknown due to a lack of fossil remains. The holotype (ZDM 0193), which is the only known specimen, was a juvenile. [2]

Life restoration of the potentially-related Bellusaurus Bellusaurus-v1.jpg
Life restoration of the potentially-related Bellusaurus

Classification

When it was described, Daanosaurus was placed in the Bellusaurinae, a sub-family of Brachiosauridae that Dong Zhiming had raised in 1990 to house Bellusaurus , or the Klamelisauridae (also now merged with Brachiosauridae), used to house Klamelisaurus and possibly also Daanosaurus and Abrosaurus . [1] [2] However, this classification is primarily based on the similarity in size with Bellusaurus. Furthermore, in its original description, Daanosaurus was found not to display any characteristics of the Brachiosauridae. [3] More recently, Daanosaurus was placed in the Macronaria due to its opisthocoelous posterior dorsal vertebrae, [4] but this trait is also present in mamenchisaurids. [5]

In 2023, the mamenchisaurid Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum was redescribed and the phylogenetic analysis performed in the study included Daanosaurus, based on personal observations of the material by one of the authors. When characters that vary through growth were included in the dataset, both Daanosaurus and Bellusaurus were recovered as mamenchisaurids. The authors found that the characters that supported this hypothesis were only found in mamenchisaurids. The results of the analysis are shown below: [6]

Mamenchisauridae

Tienshanosaurus

Omeisaurus junghsiensis

Wamweracaudia

Qijianglong

Mamenchisaurus constructus

Bellusaurus

Rhomaleopakhus

Chuanjiesaurus

Analong

Mamenchisaurus youngi

Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis (holotype)

Shishugou cervicodorsals

Phu Kradung taxon

Klamelisaurus

Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum

Xinjiangtitan

Hudiesaurus

Daanosaurus

Mamenchisaurus hochuanensis (referred)

The authors of the study also acknowledged the possibility that Daanosaurus and Bellusaurus may be members of an early-branching group of the Diplodocoidea that shared unique features with mamenchisaurids. Their status as juveniles, the authors noted, was probably the reason to the uncertainty in their phylogenetic position. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Mamenchisaurus</i> Sauropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous Period

Mamenchisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known for their remarkably long necks which made up nearly half the total body length. Numerous species have been assigned to the genus; however, many of these might be questionable. Fossils have been found in the Sichuan Basin and Yunnan Province in China. Several species are from the Upper Shaximiao Formation whose geologic age is uncertain. However, evidence suggests that this be no earlier than the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic. M. sinocanadorum dates to the Oxfordian stage and M. anyuensis to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous around 114.4 mya. Most species were medium to large size sauropods, around 15 to 26 meters in length and possibly up to 35 meters (115 ft) based on two undescribed vertebrae.

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

Euhelopus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived between 145 and 133 million years ago during the Berriasian and Valanginian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now Shandong Province in China. It was a large quadrupedal herbivore. Like sauropods such as brachiosaurs and titanosaurs, Euhelopus had longer forelegs than hind legs. This discovery was paleontologically significant because it represented the first dinosaur scientifically investigated from China: seen in 1913, rediscovered in 1922, and excavated in 1923 and studied by T'an during the same year. Unlike most sauropod specimens, it has a relatively complete skull.

Zigongosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic-Late Jurassic-age Shaximiao Formation of Zigong, Sichuan, China. Because of incomplete knowledge of Jurassic Chinese sauropods, it has been hard to interpret, with some sources assigning it to Omeisaurus, some to Mamenchisaurus, and some to its own genus.

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

Omeisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period of what is now China. Its name comes from Mount Emei, where it was discovered in the lower Shaximiao Formation of Sichuan Province.

Bashunosaurus is a genus of potentially macronarian sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Shaximiao Formation of Kaijiang, China. The type and only species is Bashunosaurus kaijiangensis.

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

Klamelisaurus is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Shishugou Formation of China. The type species is Klamelisaurus gobiensis, which was named by Zhao Xijin in 1993, based on a partial skeleton discovered in 1982 near the abandoned town of Jiangjunmiao. Zhao described Klamelisaurus as the only member of a new subfamily, Klamelisaurinae, among the now-defunct primitive sauropod order Bothrosauropodoidea. Since Zhao's description, Klamelisaurus received limited attention from researchers until Andrew Moore and colleagues redescribed it in 2020.

Dashanpusaurus is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the middle of the Jurassic period. The dinosaur was described in 2005 by Peng Guangzhao, Ye Yong, Gao Yuhui, Shu Chunkang, and Jiang Shan. Its type and only species is Dashanpusaurus dongi, named in honor of the paleontologist Dong Zhiming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shaximiao Formation</span> Late Jurassic geological formation in China

The Shaximiao Formation is a Middle to Late Jurassic aged geological formation in Sichuan, China, most notable for the wealth of dinosaurs fossils that have been excavated from its strata. The Shaximiao Formation is exposed in and around the small township of Dashanpu, situated seven kilometres north-east from Sichuan's third largest city, Zigong, in the Da'an District.

The Ziliujing Formation is a geological formation in China, It is Early Jurassic in age. It is part of the stratigraphy of the Sichuan Basin. The dinosaur Gongxianosaurus and indeterminate theropod material are known from the Dongyuemiao Member of the formation, as well as dinosaur footprints, Zizhongosaurus and indeterminate prosauropods from the Da'anzhai Member. The basal sauropod Sanpasaurus is known from the Maanshan Member. An unnamed stegosaur and the pliosauroid plesiosaur Sinopliosaurus are also known from this formation but they were found an indeterminate member. An unnamed teleosaurid known from a complete skull has also been found in the formation, pending a formal description. The deposition environment during the Da'anzhai Member in the lower Toarcian is thought to have been that of a giant freshwater lake encompassing the whole of the Sichuan basin, around 3 times larger than Lake Superior, coeval with the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event around 183 Ma.

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

Euhelopodidae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs of disputed membership and affinities, which contains Euhelopus and its close relatives. Most proposed euhelopodids are from East Asia.

Camarasauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs. Among sauropods, camarasaurids are small to medium-sized, with relatively short necks. They are visually identifiable by a short skull with large nares, and broad, spatulate teeth filling a thick jaw. Based on cervical vertebrae and cervical rib biomechanics, camarasaurids most likely moved their necks in a vertical, rather than horizontal, sweeping motion, in contrast to most diplodocids.

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

Daxiatitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous of Gansu, China. Its type and only species is Daxiatitan binglingi. It is known from a single partial skeleton consisting of most of the neck and back vertebrae, two tail vertebrae, a shoulder blade, and a thigh bone. At the time of its discovery in 2008, Daxiatitan was regarded as potentially the largest known dinosaur from China.

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

Mamenchisauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs belonging to Eusauropoda known from the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Asia and Africa. Some members of the group reached gigantic sizes, amongst the largest of all sauropods.

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

Nebulasaurus is an extinct genus of basal eusauropod dinosaur known from the early Middle Jurassic Zhanghe Formation of Yunnan Province, China. It is known only from the holotype braincase LDRC-v.d.1. A phylogenetic analysis found Nebulasaurus to be a sister taxon to Spinophorosaurus from the Middle Jurassic of Africa. This discovery is significant paleontologically because it represents a clade of basal eusauropods previously unknown from Asia.

Qijianglong is a genus of herbivorous mamenchisaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China.

Fushanosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Shishugou Formation from Xinjiang Province in China. The type and only species is Fushanosaurus qitaiensis. It is solely known from the holotype specimen FH000101, a complete right femur.

Rhomaleopakhus is a genus of mamenchisaurid sauropod, dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Kalaza Formation of China. The type and only species is Rhomaleopakhus turpanensis.

Ruixinia is an extinct genus of somphospondylan titanosauriform dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Yixian Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Ruixinia zhangi. The Ruixinia holotype is a partial articulated skeleton with the most complete series of caudal vertebrae known from any Asian titanosauriform.

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

Minimocursor is a genus of basal neornithischian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Phu Kradung Formation of Thailand. The type species is Minimocursor phunoiensis.

References

  1. 1 2 Brachiosauridae at Mikko's Phylogeny Archive
  2. 1 2 3 Ye, Y.; Gao, Y.; Jiang, S. (2005). "A new genus of sauropod from Zigong, Sichuan". Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 43 (3): 175–181.
  3. Xing, Lida (2013). "A new basal eusauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan, China, and faunal compositions and transitions of Asian sauropodomorph dinosaurs". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. doi:10.4202/app.2012.0151. ISSN   0567-7920.
  4. D'Emic, Michael D. (2012-10-26). "The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (3): 624–671. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00853.x. hdl: 2027.42/94293 . ISSN   0024-4082.
  5. Liao C, Moore A, Jin C, Yang T, Shibata M, Jin F, Wang B, Jin D, Guo Y, Xu X (2021). "A possible brachiosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the mid-Cretaceous of northeastern China". PeerJ. 9: e11957. doi:10.7717/peerj.11957. PMC   8381880 . PMID   34484987.
  6. 1 2 Moore, Andrew J.; Barrett, Paul M.; Upchurch, Paul; Liao, Chun-Chi; Ye, Yong; Hao, Baoqiao; Xu (2023). "Re-assessment of the Late Jurassic eusauropod Mamenchisaurus sinocanadorum Russell and Zheng, 1993, and the evolution of exceptionally long necks in mamenchisaurids". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 21 (1). doi:10.1080/14772019.2023.2171818.