Gannansaurus

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Gannansaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 66.7–66  Ma
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Gannansaurus.png
Skeletal restoration of Gannansaurus sinensis.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Genus: Gannansaurus
et al., 2013
Species:
G. sinensis
Binomial name
Gannansaurus sinensis
et al., 2013

Gannansaurus (meaning "Gannan lizard") is an extinct genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur known from the latest Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Ganzhou Basin, Jiangxi Province of southern China. It is known from specimen GMNH F10001 which consists of a single, nearly complete dorsal vertebra and a mid-caudal vertebra. Gannansaurus was first named by Lü Junchang, Yi Laiping, Zhong Hui and Wei Xuefang in 2013 and the type species is Gannansaurus sinensis. Gannansaurus shares some characters with Euhelopus , indicating that it is more closely related to it rather than to other titanosauriforms. [1]

Contents

History of discovery

The type specimen was collected from a construction site near Longling Town in Ganzhou, China. Most of the specimen was destroyed as a result of the construction work, but one dorsal vertebra was able to be pieced back together from fragments. A caudal vertebra was also saved. The two vertebrae are stored at the Ganzhou Museum of Natural History with the catalog number GMNH F10001. In 2013, Lü Junchang, Yi Laiping, Zhong Hui and Wei Xuefang described the remains as a new genus and species of sauropod, Gannansaurus sinensis. The genus name refers to the Gannan district of Ganzhou, where the specimens were found, and the species name refers to the specimens being found in China. The two vertebrae are assumed to represent the same individual based on their recovery from the same quarry. [1]

Classification

In their original description of Gannansaurus, Lü and colleagues suggested that it was closely related to Euhelopus , on the basis of a K-shaped arrangement of vertebral laminae uniquely shared by the two taxa. [1] Gannansaurus was included in a phylogenetic analysis by Mo and colleagues in 2023, and was recovered as a basal titanosauriform. [2]

Paleoecology

The ecosystem preserved in the Nanxiong Formation contained at least one other sauropod, Jiangxititan . [2] The top predator of the ecosystem was the tyrannosaurid Qianzhousaurus . [3]

Related Research Articles

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

Euhelopus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived between 145 and 133 million years ago during the Berriasian and Valanginian stages of the Early Cretaceous in what is now Shandong Province in China. It was a large quadrupedal herbivore. Like sauropods such as brachiosaurs and titanosaurs, Euhelopus had longer forelegs than hind legs. This discovery was paleontologically significant because it represented the first dinosaur scientifically investigated from China: seen in 1913, rediscovered in 1922, and excavated in 1923 and studied by T'an during the same year. Unlike most sauropod specimens, it has a relatively complete skull.

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

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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

Nanshiungosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurid that lived in what is now Asia during the Late Cretaceous of South China. The type species, Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus, was first discovered in 1974 and described in 1979 by Dong Zhiming. It is represented by a single specimen preserving most of the cervical and dorsal vertebrae with the pelvis. A supposed and unlikely second species, "Nanshiungosaurus" bohlini, was found in 1992 and described in 1997. It is also represented by vertebrae but this species however, differs in geological age and lacks authentic characteristics compared to the type, making its affinity to the genus unsupported.

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

Dongyangosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. The only species is Dongyangosaurus sinensis, from which only a single fragmentary skeleton is known, coming from the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It was described and named by Lü Junchang and colleagues. Like other sauropods, Dongyangosaurus would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore.

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

Daxiatitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous of Gansu, China. Its type and only species is Daxiatitan binglingi. It is known from a single partial skeleton consisting of most of the neck and back vertebrae, two tail vertebrae, a shoulder blade, and a thigh bone. At the time of its discovery in 2008, Daxiatitan was regarded as potentially the largest known dinosaur from China.

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

Xianshanosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) of the Ruyang Basin in Henan Province, China. Its type and only species is Xianshanosaurus shijiagouensis. It was described in 2009 by a team of paleontologists led by Lü Junchang. Xianshanosaurus may be a titanosaur, and Daxiatitan may be its closest relative, but its evolutionary relationships remain controversial.

The Nanxiong Formation is a Late Cretaceous geologic formation in Guangdong Province. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

Yunmenglong is an extinct genus of somphospondylan sauropod known from the late Early Cretaceous of Henan Province, central China. Its remains were discovered in the Haoling Formation of the Ruyang Basin. The type species is Yunmenglong ruyangensis, described in 2013 by Junchang Lü et al. on the basis of an incomplete postcranial skeleton. Yunmenglong shares some characters with Euhelopus, Qiaowanlong and Erketu, and a phylogenetic analysis places it as a sister taxon of Qiaowanlong, both grouped with Erketu in a position more derived than Euhelopus but basal to Titanosauria.

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

Jiangxisaurus is an extinct genus of oviraptorid theropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of southern China. It was similar to Heyuannia, but with more strongly curved anterior claws and a thinner, frailer mandible. This find is paleontologically significant because it contributes to current knowledge about the paleogeographical distribution of oviraptorids in southern China. It was most likely a herbivorous animal along with its close relatives Nankangia and Ganzhousaurus.

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

Nankangia is an extinct genus of caenagnathoid oviraptorosaurian dinosaur known from the Upper Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Nankang County, Ganzhou City of Jiangxi Province, southeastern China. It contains a single species, Nankangia jiangxiensis. N. jiangxiensis coexisted with at least four other caenagnathoids, including but not limited to Corythoraptor, Banji, Ganzhousaurus and Jiangxisaurus. The relatively short dentary and non-downturned mandibular symphysis of Nankangia suggest that it may have been more herbivorous than carnivorous. Its diet consisted of leaves and seeds.

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

Yongjinglong is an extinct genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous of Lanzhou-Minhe Basin of Gansu Province, China. It contains a single species, Yongjinglong datangi.

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

Qianzhousaurus is a genus of tyrannosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period. There is currently only one species named, the type species Qianzhousaurus sinensis, which is a member of the tribe Alioramini and most closely related to Alioramus, the only other known alioramin.

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

Padillasaurus is an extinct genus of titanosauriform sauropod known from the Early Cretaceous Paja Formation in Colombia. It contains a single species, Padillasaurus leivaensis, known only from a single partial axial skeleton. Initially described as a brachiosaurid, it was considered to be the first South American brachiosaurid ever discovered and named. Before its discovery, the only known brachiosaurid material on the continent was very fragmentary and from the Jurassic period. However, a more recent study finds it to be a basal somphospondylan.

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

Corythoraptor is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur from the late Maastrichtian Nanxiong Formation of South China. It contains one species, C. jacobsi, known from a single well-preserved skeleton, and named after paleontologist Louis L. Jacobs. It bears a tall crest similar to that of the modern cassowary, and possibly had a similar functionality of display and resonance to detect lower-frequency sounds.

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

Sibirotitan is a genus of somphospondyl sauropod from the Ilek Formation of Russia. The type and only species is S. astrosacralis.

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.

<i>Jiangxititan</i> Genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaurs

Jiangxititan is an extinct genus of somphospondylan titanosauriform dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, J. ganzhouensis, known from several articulated vertebrae with ribs. Originally described as a titanosaur, Jiangxititan was later suggested to be a non-titanosaurian somphospondylan.

Gandititan is an extinct genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Zhoutian Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, G. cavocaudatus, known from a partial skeleton.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Junchang Lü; Laiping Yi; Hui Zhong; Xuefang Wei (2013). "A New Somphospondylan Sauropod (Dinosauria, Titanosauriformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province of Southern China". Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition). 87 (3): 678–685. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12079.
  2. 1 2 Mo, Jin-You; Fu, Qiong-Yao; Yu, Yi-Lun; Xu, Xing (2023-09-21). "A new titanosaurian sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Jiangxi Province, southern China". Historical Biology. doi:10.1080/08912963.2023.2259413. eISSN   1029-2381. ISSN   0891-2963.
  3. Lü, Junchang; Yi, Laiping; Brusatte, Stephen L.; Yang, Ling; Li, Hua; Chen, Liu (2014). "A new clade of Asian Late Cretaceous long-snouted tyrannosaurids". Nature Communications. 5 (1): 3788. doi:10.1038/ncomms4788. ISSN   2041-1723.