Yantaloong is an extinct genus of eusauropod dinosaur known from the Middle JurassicZhanghe Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Yantaloong lini, known from six presacral vertebrae. Phylogenetic analyses place Yantaloong as a close relative of Jobaria and Lapparentosaurus. In one analysis version, these taxa were placed as the sister taxon to a clade of 'traditional turiasaurs', forming a broader Turiasauria than recognized previously. If it is a turiasaur, it would be the first one known from East Asia.[1]
Classification
To determine the relationships and affinities of Yantaloong, Zhang et al. (2026) scored it in updated versions of the phylogenetic matrices of Moore et al. (2023)[2] and Mannion et al. (2019),[3] both of which are ultimately derived from a matrix by González Riga et al. (2018)[4] based on several updates made by other researchers in the years following its publication. The equal weighting analysis of Moore et al. (2023) (Topology A below) recovered Yantaloong in a polytomy with Lapparentosaurus and a clade formed by Jobaria and Atlasaurus. This entire clade was recovered as the sister taxon to one comprising traditional genera of the Turiasauria. Together, they form a larger Turiasauria based on its taxonomic definition. Under extended implied weights (Topology B), Yantaloong was instead recovered as the earliest-diverging member of the neosauropod clade Macronaria. Using the Mannion et al. (2019) matrix, Yantaloong was placed in a clade including Jobaria, as the sister taxon to Lapparentosaurus. Under equal weighting (Topology C) and extended implied weights (Topology D), this clade was placed diverging before Turiasauria. These versions differed in the placement of a clade comprising Tehuelchesaurus, Bellusaurus, Janenschia, and Haestasaurus, in relation to turiasaurs. Zhang et al. preferred the turiasaurian placement derived from the equal weights analysis from the Moore et al. (2023) matrix, as these results demonstrate the highest stability (compared to the poorly supported macronarian placement under extended implied weights), in addition to the broader taxon sampling used in this matrix.[1]
Topology A: Moore et al. (2023) dataset,[2] equal weights
12Zhang, Xiao-Qin; Wang, Ya-Ming; Wang, Zhen-Ji; Wang, Yan-Chao; Wang, Tao; Wang, Guo-Fu; Zou, Yi; Dong, Qi-Xing; Su, Xing; Jiang, Hua; Wang, Yan-Jun; You, Hai-Lu (2026-02-03). "The first turiasaurian sauropod (Dinosauria: Eusauropoda) from East Asia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 206 (2) zlaf201. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf201. ISSN0024-4082.
123Moore, Andrew J.; Barrett, Paul M.; Upchurch, Paul; Liao, Chun-Chi; Ye, Yong; Hao, Baoqiao; Xu, Xing (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. ISSN1477-2019.
123Mannion, Philip D; Upchurch, Paul; Schwarz, Daniela; Wings, Oliver (2019). "Taxonomic affinities of the putative titanosaurs from the Late Jurassic Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania: phylogenetic and biogeographic implications for eusauropod dinosaur evolution". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 185 (3): 784–909. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly068. ISSN0024-4082.
↑Gonzàlez Riga, Bernardo J; Mannion, Philip D; Poropat, Stephen F; Ortiz David, Leonardo D; Coria, Juan Pedro (September 2018). "Osteology of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap: implications for basal titanosaur relationships". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 184 (1): 136–181. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx103. ISSN0024-4082.
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