Liaoningotitan Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | † Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | † Sauropoda |
Clade: | † Macronaria |
Clade: | † Somphospondyli |
Genus: | † Liaoningotitan Zhou et al., 2018 |
Species: | †L. sinensis |
Binomial name | |
†Liaoningotitan sinensis Zhou et al., 2018 | |
Liaoningotitan (meaning "Liaoning giant") is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China.
Distinguishing features of Liaoningotitan include a ventral margin of the maxilla that is convex, an upper tooth row that is short and anteriorly positioned; an anterior extension of the jugal that nearly reaches the level of the anterior margin of the antorbital fenestra; a basally constricted quadrate wing of the pterygoid; imbricated upper teeth, with narrow spatulate crowns that are D-shaped in cross section, and no labial grooves or denticles; nine reduced and un-imbricated lower teeth; asymmetric lower tooth crowns which are elliptical-like in cross section, with lingual grooves and ridges and a lingually bulbous basal crown; a proximal expansion of the humerus that is about 54.9% the length of the humerus; and an ilium with a pointed preacetabular process. [1]
Zhou et al. (2018) recover Liaoningotitan as a somphospondylan titanosauriform more derived than Euhelopus . [1] In 2022, Mo et al. found Liaoningotitan to be an unstable taxon that may be closely related to Diamantinasaurus and Baotianmansaurus . [2]
Liaoningotitan is one of three titanosauriforms from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, the others being Dongbeititan and Ruixinia . [2] These forms co-existed with feathered dinosaurs in the Early Cretaceous lacustrine environment of present-day Liaoning. [1]
Iguanodontidae is a family of iguanodontians belonging to Styracosterna, a derived clade within Ankylopollexia.
Asiatosaurus is an extinct genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur which lived during the Early Cretaceous in Mongolia and China. The type species is known only from teeth, making it difficult to rely on information until more specimens are found to expand our knowledge, and another species is known, also based on scant remains; both are now classified as nomina dubia..
Huabeisaurus was a genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a sauropod which lived in what is present-day northern China. The type species, Huabeisaurus allocotus, was first described by Pang Qiqing and Cheng Zhengwu in 2000. Huabeisaurus is known from numerous remains found in the 1990s, which include teeth, partial limbs and vertebrae. Due to its relative completeness, Huabeisaurus represents a significant taxon for understanding sauropod evolution in Asia. Huabeisaurus comes from Kangdailiang and Houyu, Zhaojiagou Town, Tianzhen County, Shanxi province, China. The holotype was found in the unnamed upper member of the Huiquanpu Formation, which is Late Cretaceous (?Cenomanian–?Campanian) in age based on ostracods, charophytes, and fission-track dating.
Sinusonasus is a genus of dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Period, recovered from the Yixian Formation. It lived in what is now the Liaoning Province of China. Sinusonasus was a theropod, specifically a troodontid dinosaur.
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.
Pukyongosaurus is a genus of titanosauriform dinosaur that lived in South Korea during the Early Cretaceous period. It may have been closely related to Euhelopus, and is known from a series of vertebrae in the neck and back. The characteristics that were originally used to distinguish this genus have been criticized as being either widespread or too poorly preserved to evaluate, rendering the genus an indeterminate nomen dubium among titanosauriforms. The 2022 study noted that Pukyongosaurus is probably a somphospondylan.
Phuwiangosaurus is a genus of titanosaur dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian-Hauterivian) Sao Khua Formation of Thailand. The type species, P. sirindhornae, was described by Martin, Buffetaut, and Suteethorn in a 1993 press release and was formally named in 1994. The species was named to honor Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who was interested in the geology and palaeontology of Thailand, while the genus was named after the Phu Wiang area, where the fossil was discovered.
Fusuisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of China. Fragmentary postcranial remains of this animal have been discovered in 2001 in the Napai Formation of Guangxi, China and consist of the left ilium, left pubis, anterior caudals, most of the dorsal ribs and distal end of the left femur. This sauropod has been described as a basal titanosauriform.
Dongbeititan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous-age Yixian Formation of Beipiao, Liaoning, China. It is based on holotype DNHM D2867, a partial postcranial skeleton including bones from the limbs, shoulder and pelvic girdles, and vertebrae, which was described in 2007. Its describers suggested it was as a basal titanosauriform, not as derived as Gobititan or Jiutaisaurus, but more derived than Euhelopus, Fusuisaurus, and Huanghetitan. The type species is D. dongi, and it is the first named sauropod from the Yixian Formation, which is part of the well-known Jehol Group. The genus name refers to the region Dongbei and to Greek titan, "giant". The specific name honours the Chinese paleontologist Dong Zhiming. Like other sauropods, Dongbeititan would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore.
The Yixian Formation is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans about 1.6 million years during the early Cretaceous period. It is known for its fossils, listed below.
Xixiasaurus is a genus of troodontid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous Period in what is now China. The only known specimen was discovered in Xixia County, Henan Province, in central China, and became the holotype of the new genus and species Xixiasaurus henanensis in 2010. The names refer to the areas of discovery, and can be translated as "Henan Xixia lizard". The specimen consists of an almost complete skull, part of the lower jaw, and teeth, as well as a partial right forelimb.
Zhenyuanopterus is a genus of boreopterid pterosaur which is known from Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. It contains one species, Zhenyuanopterus longirostris, which was first described and named by Lü Junchang.
Pterofiltrus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning, China.
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.
Chuanqilong is a monospecific genus of basal ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Liaoning Province, China that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now the Jiufotang Formation. The type and only species, Chuanqilong chaoyangensis, is known from a nearly complete skeleton with a skull of a juvenile individual. It was described in 2014 by Fenglu Han, Wenjie Zheng, Dongyu Hu, Xing Xu, and Paul M. Barrett. Chuanqilong shows many similarities with Liaoningosaurus and may represent a later ontogenetic stage of the taxon.
Forfexopterus is a genus of ctenochasmatid pterosaur from the Early Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation in China. It contains a single species, F. jeholensis, named from a mostly complete skeleton by Shunxing Jiang and colleagues in 2016. A second specimen, consisting of a wing, was described in 2020. While the first specimen is larger, it shows signs of being less mature than the second specimen, indicating that the developmental trajectories of Forfexopterus were variable. Like other ctenochasmatids, Forfexopterus had a long, low skull filled with many slender teeth; unlike other members of the group, however, it did not have a spatula-shaped snout tip or crests, and its teeth were more curved. A single characteristic distinguishes Forfexopterus from all other members of the wider group Archaeopterodactyloidea: of the four phalanx bones in its wing finger, the first was shorter than the second but longer than the third.
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.
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.
Soriatitan is a genus of brachiosaurid sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of Spain. It is known from one species, S. golmayensis, found in the Golmayo Formation. It lived between 138 and 130 million years ago was identified by a team of paleontologists in Spain.
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.