Jiangshanosaurus

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Jiangshanosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
~92–88  Ma
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Jiangshanosaurus lixianensis zmnh006.JPG
Skeletal mount
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Clade: Titanosauriformes
Genus: Jiangshanosaurus
Species:
J. lixianensis
Binomial name
Jiangshanosaurus lixianensis
Tang et al., 2001

Jiangshanosaurus is a genus of herbivorous titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur that lived in China approximately 92-88 million years ago, [1] during the Turonian-Coniacian stage of the Late Cretaceous.

Contents

Discovery and naming

Closer view of body Jiangshanosaurus lixianoensis.jpg
Closer view of body

In 1977 and 1978 a sauropod skeleton was excavated by paleontologists Wei Feng, Wu Weitang and Kang Ximin in the Jinhua Formation of Lixian Village, Jiangshan county, in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang.

The type and only named species, Jiangshanosaurus lixianensis, was formally described by Tang Feng, Kang, Jin Xingsheng, Wei and Wu in 2001. The holotype, ZNM M1322, of J. lixianensis includes elements of the left shoulder, five back vertebrae, three tail vertebrae, the pubic bones, the ischia, and a left femur. [2] The genus name refers to Jiangshan County; the specific name refers to the village of Lixian.

In 2019, Philip Mannion e.a. redescribed the holotype. [3]

Description

Size

According to paleontologist Thomas R. Holtz Jr. the exact size of this sauropod cannot be determined. [4] Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at eleven meters and its weight at 2500 kg. [5]

Distinguishing traits

In 2019, Mannion e.a. indicated two distinguishing traits. They were autapomorphies, unique derived characters. In the vertebrae positioned at the transition between the tail base and the middle tail, the lower ends of the laminae spinoprezygapophyseales, the ridges running from the neural spine towards the front articulation processes, are placed to the inside of these processes, the prezygapophyses, instead of touching them. The lower shaft of the ischium ends in a small process, formed as a hook, on its top outer side. [3]

Phylogeny

Although Jiangshanosaurus initially defied precise placement within Titanosauria, in 2017 paper considered it to be outside Lithostrotia. [6]

According to the 2019 study, Jiangshanosaurus was placed in the Somphospondyli in a basal position, outside the Titanosauria. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titanosauria</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as Patagotitan—estimated at 37 m (121 ft) long with a weight of 69 tonnes —and the comparably-sized Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus from the same region.

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

Andesaurus is a genus of basal titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur which existed during the middle of the Cretaceous Period in South America. Like most sauropods, belonging to one of the largest animals ever to walk the Earth, it would have had a small head on the end of a long neck and an equally long tail.

Gobititan is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Aptian faunal stage of the Early Cretaceous. The name of this genus is derived from the Gobi desert region and the Titans of Greek mythology, which is a reference to its large body size. The specific name shenzhouensis, is derived from "Shenzhou", an ancient name for China.

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

Puertasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous Period. It is known from a single specimen recovered from sedimentary rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in southwestern Patagonia, Argentina, which probably is Campanian or Maastrichtian in age. The only species is Puertasaurus reuili. Described by the paleontologist Fernando Novas and colleagues in 2005, it was named in honor of Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil, who discovered and prepared the specimen. It consists of four well-preserved vertebrae, including one cervical, one dorsal, and two caudal vertebrae. Puertasaurus is a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous.

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

Huanghetitan, is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the early Cretaceous Period. It was a basal titanosauriform which lived in what is now Gansu, China.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somphospondyli</span> Extinct clade of sauropods

Somphospondyli is an extinct clade of titanosauriform sauropods that lived from the Late Jurassic until the end of the Late Cretaceous, comprising all titanosauriforms more closely related to Titanosauria proper than Brachiosauridae. The remains of somphospondylans have been discovered in all six continents.

<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.

The Jinhua Formation is a geological formation in Zhejiang, China, whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous period. It was initially believed to be Early Cretaceous in age.

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

Ruyangosaurus is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur recovered from the Early Cretaceous Haoling Formation of China. The type species is R. giganteus, described in 2009 by Lü Junchang et al.

Arkharavia is a dubious genus of somphospondylan sauropod, but at least some of the remains probably belong to a hadrosaurid. It lived in what is now Russia, during the Late Cretaceous. It was discovered around 1984 and was described in 2010 by Alifanov and Bolotsky. The type species is A. heterocoelica.

<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.

Liubangosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now China. The type and only species is Liubangosaurus hei, first described by Mo Jinyou, Xu Xing and Eric Buffetaut in 2010. Liubangosaurus is known from the holotype NHMG8152, five nearly complete and articulated middle-caudal dorsal vertebrae that were collected from the Xinlong Formation in Fusui County, Guangxi Province. Jinyou et al. (2010) found that Liubangosaurus belonged to the clade Eusauropoda.

Yueosaurus is an extinct genus of basal ornithopod dinosaur known from Zhejiang Province, China.

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

Elaltitan is an extinct genus of large lithostrotian titanosaur sauropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous of Chubut Province, southern Argentina. It contains a single species, Elaltitan lilloi.

<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>Savannasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Savannasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia. It contains one species, Savannasaurus elliottorum, named in 2016 by Stephen Poropat and colleagues. The holotype and only known specimen, originally nicknamed "Wade", is the most complete specimen of an Australian sauropod, and is held at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum. Dinosaurs known from contemporary rocks include its close relative Diamantinasaurus and the theropod Australovenator; associated teeth suggest that Australovenator may have fed on the holotype specimen.

Triunfosaurus is a genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. It contains a single species, T. leonardii, described by Carvalho et al. in 2017. As a genus, Triunfosaurus can be distinguished from all other titanosaurs by the unique proportions of its ischium. It was initially described as a basal titanosaur, making it the earliest basal titanosaur known; however, subsequent research questioned the identification of the taxon as a titanosaur, instead reassigning it to the Somphospondyli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rinconsauria</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Rinconsauria is an extinct clade of giant titanosaurian sauropods known from the late Cretaceous period of Argentina.

<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.

Wamweracaudia is a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania, Africa, 155-145 million years ago.

References

  1. Xi, Dangpeng; Wan, Xiaoqiao; Li, Guobiao; Li, Gang (2018-09-19). "Cretaceous integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China". Science China Earth Sciences. 62 (1): 256–286. doi:10.1007/s11430-017-9262-y. ISSN   1674-7313.
  2. Feng Tang, Xi-Min Kang, Xing-Sheng Jin, Feng Wei, Wei-Tang Wu (2001) "A New Sauropod Dinosaur of Cretaceous From Jiangshan, Zhejiang Province" in: Vertebrata PalAsiatica. Bd. 39, Nr. 4, pp. 272–281.
  3. 1 2 3 Philip D. Mannion; Paul Upchurch; Xingsheng Jin; Wenjie Zheng. 2019. "New information on the Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs of Zhejiang Province, China: impact on Laurasian titanosauriform phylogeny and biogeography". Royal Society Open Science. 6(8): Article ID 191057
  4. Holtz, Thomas R. Jr.; Rey, Luis V. (2007). Dinosaurs (, p. 34). New York: Random House. ISBN   978-0-375-82419-7.
  5. Paul, G. S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, 2nd Edition. Princeton University Press, p. 234.
  6. Averianov, Alexander; Sues, Hans-Dieter (2017). "Review of Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs from Central Asia". Cretaceous Research. 69: 184. doi: 10.1016/j.cretres.2016.09.006 .