Datousaurus

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Datousaurus
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, 166–162  Ma
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Datousaurus.jpg
Reconstructed skeleton
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Family: Mamenchisauridae
Genus: Datousaurus
Dong & Tang, 1984
Species:
D. bashanensis
Binomial name
Datousaurus bashanensis
Dong & Tang, 1984

Datousaurus (meaning "chieftain lizard" or "big-head lizard"; originally named using the Malay datu , after its Chinese nickname qiulong - literally "chieftain dragon" - but also a pun on its big head; da tou means "big head" in Chinese) [1] was a dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic. It was a sauropod collected from the Lower Shaximiao Formation in Dashanpu, Zigong Sichuan province, China. It shared the local Middle Jurassic landscape with other sauropods such as Shunosaurus , Omeisaurus , Protognathosaurus , the ornithopod Xiaosaurus , the early stegosaur Huayangosaurus as well as the carnivorous Gasosaurus .

Contents

Discovery and species

Jaws and teeth Zigong Dinosaur Museum Datousaurus.jpg
Jaws and teeth

Datousaurus was named by Dong Zhiming and Tang in 1984. To date, only two partial skeletons have been discovered. Neither had an articulated skull, although one skull has been discovered that has been attributed to the genus. [2]

D. bashanensis is the only established species.

Paleobiology

Scale diagram of Datousaurus Datousaurus Scale.svg
Scale diagram of Datousaurus

Datousaurus was about 15 metres long and herbivorous. [2] It had a deep large skull for a sauropod. [2] The rarity of its fossils suggest that it may not have been as social as other sauropods, which are often preserved in large numbers in a single deposit. [2]

Datousaurus and Shunosaurus

Datousaurus and Shunosaurus were both closely related animals with similar anatomies. [2] However, Datousaurus's elongated vertebrae gave it a higher reach and its teeth were more spoon shaped. [2] This may be a sign that these contemporaries fed on different plants and/or at different heights in the trees. [2] This strategy may have reduced competition between the two genera. [2] A similar pattern of height difference possibly associated with feeding behaviors is found in the diplodocids. [2]

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, the validity of these assignments has been questioned. Fossils have been found in the Sichuan Basin and Yunnan Province in China. Several species from the Upper Shaximiao Formation, whose geologic age is uncertain, have been described. However, evidence suggests this formation to 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. Most species were medium-large to large sauropods, measuring roughly 15 to 26 meters in length—possibly up to 35 meters (115 ft), based on two undescribed vertebrae.

<i>Yangchuanosaurus</i> Metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur genus from Middle Jurassic period.

Yangchuanosaurus is an extinct genus of metriacanthosaurid theropod dinosaur that lived in China from the Middle Jurassic to Late Jurassic periods, and was similar in size and appearance to its North American and European relative, Allosaurus. Yangchuanosaurus hails from the Upper Shaximiao Formation and was the largest predator in a landscape that included the sauropods Mamenchisaurus and Omeisaurus and the stegosaurs Chialingosaurus, Tuojiangosaurus and Chungkingosaurus. This theropod was named after the area in which was discovered, Yongchuan, in China.

<i>Abrosaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Abrosaurus is a genus of macronarian sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period of what is now Asia, one of many dinosaurs found at the Dashanpu Quarry in the Sichuan Province of China. Like most sauropods, Abrosaurus was a quadrupedal herbivore but it was rather small for a sauropod, not much more than 30 feet (9.1 m) long. Its head was boxy and topped with a tall bony arch containing the nostrils.

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

Shunosaurus, meaning "Lizard from Sichuan", is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) beds in Sichuan Province in China, from 161 to 157 Million years ago. The name derives from "Shu", an ancient name for the Sichuan province.

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

Huayangosaurus is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. The name derives from "Huayang" (華陽), an alternate name for Sichuan, and "saurus", meaning "lizard". It lived during the Bathonian to Callovian stages, around 165 million years ago, some 20 million years before its famous relative, Stegosaurus appeared in North America. At only approximately 4 metres (13 ft) long, it was also much smaller than its famous cousin. Found in the Lower Shaximiao Formation, Huayangosaurus shared the local Middle Jurassic landscape with the sauropods Shunosaurus, Datousaurus, Omeisaurus and Protognathosaurus, the ornithopod Xiaosaurus and the carnivorous Gasosaurus.

<i>Bellusaurus</i> Extinct species of reptile

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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.

<i>Sinosaurus</i> Genus of dinosaurs

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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.

Chinshakiangosaurus is a genus of dinosaur and probably one of the most basal sauropods known. The only species, Chinshakiangosaurus chunghoensis, is known from a fragmentary skeleton found in Lower Jurassic rocks in China. Chinshakiangosaurus is one of the few basal sauropods with preserved skull bones and therefore important for the understanding of the early evolution of this group. It shows that early sauropods may have possessed fleshy cheeks.

Microhadrosaurus is a genus of hadrosaurid dinosaur from the Campanian or Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous Yuanpu Formation of Guangdong, China. Although its name identifies it as a small hadrosaur, it is based on juvenile remains, and the size of the adult hadrosaur is unknown.

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

Yuanmousaurus was a sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic period of China. It is known from incomplete remains, recovered in 2000 from the Zhanghe Formation in Yuanmou County in Yunnan Province. Yuanmousaurus was a relatively large sauropod and may have reached about 17 meters (56 ft) in length. It was a basal member of the Sauropoda, but its exact systematic position is unclear. A recent study placed Yuanmousaurus within the family Mamenchisauridae. It may be a dubious genus. The only and type species was Yuanmousaurus jiangyiensis.

Dong Zhiming was a Chinese vertebrate paleontologist formerly employed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) in Beijing. He began working at the IVPP in 1962, studying under Yang Zhongjian, who was director at the time. He described fossil remains of many dinosaurs. He investigated and described the Shaximiao Formation; an important contribution to science since they are composed of Middle Jurassic beds which do not commonly yield fossils.

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.

<i>Spinophorosaurus</i> Middle Jurassic genus of sauropod dinosaur

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eusauropoda</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

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<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.

<i>Bashanosaurus</i> Extinct genus of stegosaurian dinosaurs

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References

  1. "The DOL Dinosaur Omnipedia". www.dinosauria.com. Archived from the original on 31 December 2005. Retrieved 11 January 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Datousaurus." In: Dodson, Peter & Britt, Brooks & Carpenter, Kenneth & Forster, Catherine A. & Gillette, David D. & Norell, Mark A. & Olshevsky, George & Parrish, J. Michael & Weishampel, David B. The Age of Dinosaurs. Publications International, LTD. p. 68. ISBN   0-7853-0443-6.