Zizhongosaurus

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Zizhongosaurus
Temporal range: Middle-Late Toarcian, 178–176  Ma
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade:† Sauropodomorpha
Clade:† Sauropoda
Family:† Vulcanodontidae
Genus:† Zizhongosaurus
Dong in Dong et al., 1983
Species:
†Z. chuanchengensis
Binomial name
†Zizhongosaurus chuanchengensis
Dong in Dong et al., 1983

Zizhongosaurus (meaning "Zizhong lizard") is a genus of basal herbivorous sauropod dinosaur which lived in the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) Period of China. It was a large-bodied herbivore characterized by a long neck.

Contents

Discovery and naming

The genus and its type species Zizhongosaurus chuanchengensis were named in 1983 by Dong Zhiming, in a volume written by himself, Zhou Shiwu, and Zhang Yihong. The generic name is derived from Zizhong County in Sichuan Province. The specific name refers to the town of Chuancheng. [1]

The type specimens consist of three syntypes: V9067.1 is a partial dorsal vertebra; V9067.2 is a humerus or upper arm; and V9067.3 is a pubis. All specimens likely were part of a single skeleton, collected from the Ziliujing Formation. Zizhongosaurus was described as a small species. [1]

In 1999 Li Kui mentioned a second species: Zizhongosaurus huangshibanensis [2] but this has remained an undescribed nomen nudum .

Classification

Zizhongosaurus was originally assigned to the Cetiosaurinae but later authors have placed it in either the Vulcanodontidae, as a relative of Barapasaurus , or the Shunosaurinae. It is today often considered a nomen dubium .[ citation needed ]

References

  1. 1 2 Dong, Z., Zhou, S., Zhang, Y. (1983). "Dinosaurs from the Jurassic of Sichuan". Palaeontologica Sinica 162 New Series C 23. Science Press Peking: pp. 1-136
  2. ↑ K. Li, Y. Zhang, K. Cai, 1999, The Characteristics of the Composition of the Trace Elements in Jurassic Dinosaur Bones and Red Beds in Sichuan Basin, Geological Publishing House, Beijing


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