Jingshanosaurus

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Jingshanosaurus
Temporal range: Early Jurassic 201.6–196.5  Ma
Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis.jpg
Skeleton of Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis at the Miami Science Museum.
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropodiformes
Genus: Jingshanosaurus
Zhang and Yang, 1995
Type species
Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis
Zhang and Yang, 1995

Jingshanosaurus (meaning "Jingshan lizard") is a genus of sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the early Jurassic period 201.3 million years ago that went extinct 199.3 million years ago in the Hettangian Age.

Contents

Its maximum weight was around 4.3 t with an adult femur length of 845 mm. [1] Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis grew to be 5 meters (16.4 ft) long. [2]

History of discovery

Restoration Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis.png
Restoration

Its fossils, a nearly complete skeleton including the skull, were found near the town of Jingshan ("Golden Hill"), Lufeng County, Yunnan Province, China, from which the name derives. [3] First described in 1995, the type species is J. xinwaensis, formalized by Zhang and Yang. [4] Fossil remains of Jingshanosaurus had been exhibited in museums several years prior to the formal naming. A complete skeleton and skull of Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis have been found and is considered the last prosauropods to live on earth. [5]

Classification

Jingshanosaurus may have been most closely related to Yunnanosaurus , and has, at times, been included in the Yunnanosauridae. In fact, Dong Zhiming considered Jingshanosaurus possibly a large specimen of Yunnanosaurus. If true, this would make Jingshanosaurus a junior synonym of Yunnanosaurus.

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References

  1. "Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis Zhang & Yang 1994 data - Encyclopedia of Life". eol.org. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  2. "Jingshanosaurus | Natural History Museum". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  3. Ben Creisler, Dinosauria Translation and Pronunciation Guide.
  4. Y. Zhang, and Z. Yang. (1995). A new complete osteology of Prosauropoda in Lufeng Basin, Yunnan, China. Yunnan Publishing House of Science and Technology, Kunming, China 1-100. [Chinese]
  5. "Jingshanosaurus | Natural History Museum". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 2021-12-14.