Zhuchengceratops

Last updated

Zhuchengceratops
Temporal range: Maastrichtian
~70  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Zhuchengceratops NT.jpg
Life restoration
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Ornithischia
Suborder: Ceratopsia
Family: Leptoceratopsidae
Genus: Zhuchengceratops
Xu et al., 2010
Species:
Z. inexpectus
Binomial name
Zhuchengceratops inexpectus
Xu et al., 2010

Zhuchengceratops is a genus of extinct leptoceratopsid ceratopsian that lived during the Upper Cretaceous of modern-day China. It was first described in 2010, by Xu et al., who created the binomial Zhuchengceratops inexpectus. The name is derived from the location of Zhucheng, the Latinized-Greek ceratops, or "horned face", and the unexpected articulated nature of the holotype. The skeleton was found in the Wangshi Group, which is of Late Cretaceous age, and most fossils are only disarticulated bones of Shantungosaurus .

Contents

Zhuchengceratops shares many features with Leptoceratopsidae as well as other ceratopsian groups such as Ceratopsidae. The overall size of the taxon was similar to Leptoceratops , although slightly larger. Zhuchengceratops was analyzed to be in a group with Leptoceratops and Udanoceratops , although internal relationships of this triplet were unresolved.

Discovery and naming

Fossil skull and mandible Zhuchengoceratops skull and mandible.png
Fossil skull and mandible

Zhuchengceratops is a derived leptoceratopsid ceratopsian which lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Kugou, Zhucheng County, China. It is known from a partial articulated skeleton including vertebrae, ribs, teeth, and parts of the skull and mandibles. The fossils were recovered from the Wangshi Group, of the Late Cretaceous. [1] This genus was named by Xing Xu, Kebai Wang, Xijin Zhao, Corwin Sullivan and Shuqing Chen in 2010, and the type species is Zhuchengceratops inexpectus. The genus name was chosen for the location of Zhucheng, where the holotype was found, and the Latinized-Greek ceraptops, meaning "horned face". They chose the species name inexpectus to refer to the unexpected discovery of the articulated skeleton. [1]

The recovered specimen of Zhuchengceratops likely represents an adult, measuring 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length and 175 kg (386 lb) in body mass. [2] Zhuchengceratops had a particularly massive and deep 50 cm-long mandible that is also thin transversely. This and a number of other autapomorphies unique to the genus lend it significance for increasing the morphological disparity and the taxonomic diversity of the Leptoceratopsidae. As the third leptoceratopsid from Asia, this find exhibits the coexistence and radiation of two closely related clades, whose differences in jaw and tooth adaptation may represent different feeding strategies. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Psittacosaurus</i> Early Cretaceous dinosaur genus

Psittacosaurus is a genus of extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of what is now Asia, existing between 126 and 101 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich non-avian dinosaur genus. Up to 12 species are known, from across China, Mongolia, Russia, and Thailand. The species of Psittacosaurus were obligate bipeds at adulthood, with a high skull and a robust beak. One individual was found preserved with long filaments on the tail, similar to those of Tianyulong. Psittacosaurus probably had complex behaviours, based on the proportions and relative size of the brain. It may have been active for short periods of time during the day and night, and had well-developed senses of smell and vision.

<i>Shantungosaurus</i> Genus of dinosaurs

Shantungosaurus is a genus of very large saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group of the Shandong Peninsula in China, containing a single species, Shantungosaurus giganteus. The stratigraphic interval of Shantungosaurus ranges from the top of the Xingezhuang Formation to the middle of the Hongtuya Formation, middle to late Campanian in age. Shantungosaurus is so far the largest hadrosauroid taxon in the world, reaching 15 metres (49 ft) in length and 13 metric tons in body mass.

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

Montanoceratops is an extinct genus of small ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 70 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Montana and Alberta. Montanoceratops was a small sized, moderately-built, ground-dwelling, quadrupedal herbivore, that could grow up to an estimated 2.5 m (8.2 ft) in length and 170 kg (370 lb) in body mass.

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

Chaoyangsaurus is a marginocephalian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of China. It has been dated to between 150.8 and 145.5 million years ago. Chaoyangsaurus belonged to the Ceratopsia. Chaoyangsaurus, like all ceratopsians, was primarily a herbivore.

<i>Udanoceratops</i> Leptoceratopsid dinosaur genus from the Late Cretaceous

Udanoceratops is a genus of large leptoceratopsid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period of Mongolia, in what is now the Djadokhta Formation.

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

Xuanhuaceratops is a genus of dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period. The genus was in 2006 dated to the Tithonian, 150.8-145.5 million years ago. A member of the family Chaoyangsauridae, it was one of the earliest ceratopsians. The fossils were found in the Houcheng Formation of Hebei Province, northeastern China.

Leptoceratopsidae Extinct family of dinosaurs

Leptoceratopsidae is an extinct family of neoceratopsian dinosaurs from Asia, North America and Europe. Leptoceratopsids resembled, and were closely related to, other neoceratopsians, such as the families Protoceratopsidae and Ceratopsidae, but they were more primitive and generally smaller.

The Wangshi Group is a geological Group in Shandong, China whose strata date back to the Coniacian to Campanian stages of the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the group.

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

Linheraptor is a genus of dromaeosaurid dinosaur which lived in what is now China in the Late Cretaceous. It was named by Xu Xing and colleagues in 2010, and contains the species Linheraptor exquisitus. This bird-like dinosaur was less than 2 m (6.5 ft) long and was found in Inner Mongolia. It is known from a single, nearly complete skeleton.

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

Sinoceratops is an extinct genus of ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 73 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now Shandong province in China. It was named in 2010 by Xu Xing et al. for three skulls from Zhucheng, China. The name of its type species Sinoceratops zhuchengensis means "Chinese horned face from Zhucheng", after the location of its discovery.

<i>Zhuchengtyrannus</i> Tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur genus from Late Cretaceous period

Zhuchengtyrannus is a genus of tyrannosaurid theropod dinosaur known from the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous of Shandong Province, China. It belongs to the tyrannosaurinae subfamily, and contains a single species, Zhuchengtyrannus magnus.

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

Wulatelong is an extinct genus of basal oviraptorid dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Bayan Mandahu, Linhe District of Inner Mongolia, northern China. It contains a single species, Wulatelong gobiensis.

Timeline of ceratopsian research

This timeline of ceratopsian research is a chronological listing of events in the history of paleontology focused on the ceratopsians, a group of herbivorous marginocephalian dinosaurs that evolved parrot-like beaks, bony frills, and, later, spectacular horns. The first scientifically documented ceratopsian fossils were described by Edward Drinker Cope starting in the 1870s; however, the remains were poorly preserved and their true nature was not recognized. Over the next several decades, Cope named several such genera and species. Cope's hated rival, Othniel Charles Marsh, also described ceratopsian remains. In 1887, Marsh mistook a Triceratops horn for one belonging to a new species of prehistoric Bison. Marsh also named the eponymous genus Ceratops in 1888. The next year, he named the most famous ceratopsian, Triceratops horridus. It was the discovery of Triceratops that illuminated the ceratopsian body plan, and he formally named the Ceratopsia in 1890.

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

Mosaiceratops is a genus of ceratopsian, described by Zheng, Jin & Xu in 2015 and found in the Xiaguan Formation of Neixiang County. Mosaiceratops lived in the upper Cretaceous in what is now the Henan Province of China.

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

Ischioceratops is an extinct genus of small herbivorous ceratopsian dinosaur that lived approximately 69 million years ago during the latter part of the Cretaceous Period in what is now China.

Zhuchengtitan is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Shandong, China. It contains a single species, Z. zangjiazhuangensis, named by Mo Jinyou and colleagues in 2017 from a single humerus. Zhuchengtitan can be identified by the extreme width of the top end of its humerus, as well as the expansion of the deltopectoral crest on its humerus; both of these characteristics indicate that it was likely closely related to Opisthocoelicaudia. However, it differs from the latter by the flatter bottom articulating surface of its humerus. Zhuchengtitan lived in a floodplain environment alongside Shantungosaurus, Zhuchengtyrannus, and Sinoceratops.

Shandongemys is an extinct genus of turtle from the Late Cretaceous period of Shandong, China. Its fossils were found in the Wangshi Group.

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

Anomalipes zhaoi is an extinct caenagnathid dinosaur discovered in China. It lived during the Campanian-aged Wangshi Group in China. It is the only species in the genus Anomalipes.

Sinankylosaurus is a genus of dinosaur, originally described as an ankylosaur, from the late Cretaceous Period of Shandong, China. The genus contains a single species, Sinankylosaurus zhuchengensis, known from a nearly complete right illium. The describers claim that the discovery of Sinankylosaurus further demonstrates the similarity between dinosaurs of eastern Asia and western North America.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Xing Xu; Kebai Wang; Xijin Zhao; Corwin Sullivan; Shuqing Chen (2010). "A New Leptoceratopsid (Ornithischia: Ceratopsia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shandong, China and Its Implications for Neoceratopsian Evolution". PLOS ONE. 5 (11): e13835. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...513835X. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0013835 . PMC   2973951 . PMID   21079798.
  2. Paul, Gregory S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press. p. 279. ISBN   978-1-78684-190-2. OCLC   985402380.