Xianshanosaurus

Last updated

Contents

Xianshanosaurus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Aptian–Albian
Xianshanosaurus skeleton.jpg
Reconstructed skeleton
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Clade: Titanosauriformes
Clade: Somphospondyli
Genus: Xianshanosaurus
et al., 2009
Type species
Xianshanosaurus shijiagouensis
et al., 2009

Xianshanosaurus (Chinese :岘山龙; pinyin :xiànshānlóng) [1] 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.

Taxonomy

Xianshanosaurus and its type species X. shijiagouensis were named by Lü Junchang, Xu Li, Jiang Xiaojun, Jia Songhai, Li Ming, Yuan Chongxi, Zhang Xingliao, and Ji Qiang in 2009. The type specimen, accessioned in the Henan Geological Museum, consists of ten caudal vertebrae, a coracoid, a femur, and several ribs. The genus name refers to Xian Mountain (Chinese :岘山; pinyin :xiànshān), located near where the holotype was found. [2]

Phylogenetic relationships

When Xianshanosaurus was first described, its discoverers noted that it had an unusual mixture of characteristics of titanosaurs and non-titanosaurian sauropods, and classified it as an indeterminate neosauropod. [2] In 2011, Philip Mannion and Jorge Calvo tentatively considered it a titanosaur, [3] and in 2012, Michael D'Emic interpreted it as a lithostrotian titanosaur. [4]

Studies that have included Xianshanosaurus in phylogenetic analyses have regarded it as an unstable taxon. [5] [6] In several studies, it has been recovered as a titanosaur either close to or within Lithostrotia, with Daxiatitan sometimes recovered as its sister taxon. [5] [7] In contrast, Andrew Moore and colleagues found it to be highly unstable, potentially belonging to Titanosauria, Turiasauria, or Euhelopodidae. In the third case, in which Euhelopodidae was recovered as a non-neosauropod clade equivalent to Mamenchisauridae, Moore et al. recovered Daxiatitan as the sister taxon of Xianshanosaurus. [6]

Habitat

Xianshanosaurus shared its habitat with Ruyangosaurus , "Huanghetitan" ruyangensis, Yunmenglong , Luoyanggia , and Zhongyuansaurus . The Haoling Formation was initially thought to be Cenomanian in age, but is now considered Aptian-Albian. [8]

Related Research Articles

Agustinia is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of South America. The genus contains a single species, Agustinia ligabuei, known from a single specimen that was recovered from the Lohan Cura Formation of Neuquén Province in Argentina. It lived about 116–108 million years ago, in the Aptian–Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous Period.

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

Macronaria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs. Macronarians are named after the large diameter of the nasal opening of their skull, known as the external naris, which exceeded the size of the orbit, the skull opening where the eye is located. Fossil evidence suggests that macronarian dinosaurs lived from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) through the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). Macronarians have been found globally, including discoveries in Argentina, the United States, Portugal, China, and Tanzania. Like other sauropods, they are known to have inhabited primarily terrestrial areas, and little evidence exists to suggest that they spent much time in coastal environments. Macronarians are diagnosed through their distinct characters on their skulls, as well as appendicular and vertebral characters. Macronaria is composed of several subclades and families notably including Camarasauridae and Titanosauriformes, among several others. Titanosauriforms are particularly well known for being some of the largest terrestrial animals to ever exist.

<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.

Daanosaurus was a genus of dinosaur. It was a sauropod which lived during the Late Jurassic. It lived in what is now China, and was similar to Bellusaurus.

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>Mongolosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Mongolosaurus is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur which lived during the Early Cretaceous of China.

<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>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">Euhelopodidae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

Euhelopodidae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs of disputed membership and affinities, which contains Euhelopus and its close relatives. Most proposed euhelopodids are from East Asia.

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


Zhongyuansaurus is a monospecific genus of ankylosaurid dinosaur from Henan that lived during the Early Cretaceous in what is now the Haoling Formation. Zhongyuansaurus is possibly a junior synonym of Gobisaurus, a basal ankylosaurid from the Ulansuhai Formation of Inner Mongolia.

<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>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.

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

Baotianmansaurus is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur. Its fossils have been found in Upper Cretaceous rocks in Henan, China, within the Gaogou Formation. The type species is B. henanensis, described in 2009. The holotype is 41H III-0200. Remains of the fossils were vertebrae, ribs and scapula fragments. It was probably a close relative of Opisthocoelicaudia and Dongyangosaurus in Saltasauridae.

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

Wintonotitan is a genus of titanosauriform dinosaur from Cenomanian -age Winton Formation of Australia. It is known from partial postcranial remains.

The Haoling Formation is a Mesozoic geologic formation in the Ruyang Basin of Henan, Province, central China. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

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 complete and articulated middle-caudal dorsal vertebrae that were collected from the Xinlong Formation in Fusui County, Guangxi Province. Mo et al. (2010) found that Liubangosaurus belonged to the clade Eusauropoda.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamantinasauria</span> Clade of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaurs

Diamantinasauria is an extinct clade of somphospondylan titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs with close affinities to the Titanosauria, known from the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) of South America and Australia. It was named by Poropat and colleagues in 2021, and contains four genera: Australotitan, Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus from the Winton Formation of Queensland, as well as Sarmientosaurus from the Bajo Barreal Formation of Patagonia. The existence of the clade indicates connectivity between Australia and South America via Antarctica during the Cretaceous period.

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.

References

  1. Xu, Li; Zhang, Xingliao; Lü, Junchang; Jia, Songhai; Pan, Zecheng; Qin, Shuang; Zhu, Hongwei; Zeng, Guangyuan (2010). "The Ruyang gigantic sauropod dinosaurian fauna from Henan Province and discussion on geological time of the fossil-bearing strata". Geological Review. 56 (6): 761–768.
  2. 1 2 Lü, J.; Xu, L.; Jiang, X.; Jia, S.; Li, M.; Yuan, C.; Zhang, X.; Ji, Q. (2009). "A preliminary report on the new dinosaurian fauna from the Cretaceous of the Ruyang Basin, Henan Province of central China". Journal of the Paleontological Society of Korea. 25: 43–56.
  3. Mannion, Philip D.; Calvo, Jorge O. (2011). "Anatomy of the basal titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) Andesaurus delgadoi from the mid-Cretaceous (Albian-early Cenomanian) Río Limay Formation, Neuquén Province, Argentina: implications for titanosaur systematics". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163: no. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00699.x . ISSN   0024-4082. S2CID   86633142.
  4. D'Emic, Michael D. (2012). "The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (3): 624–671. doi: 10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00853.x . hdl: 2027.42/94293 . ISSN   0024-4082.
  5. 1 2 Mannion, Philip D.; Upchurch, Paul; Barnes, Rosie N.; Mateus, Octávio (2013). "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms: Lusotitan and Titanosauriform Evolution". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 168 (1): 98–206. doi: 10.1111/zoj.12029 . ISSN   0024-4082.
  6. 1 2 Moore, Andrew J.; Upchurch, Paul; Barrett, Paul M.; Clark, James M.; Xu, Xing (2020). "Osteology of Klamelisaurus gobiensis (Dinosauria, Eusauropoda) and the evolutionary history of Middle–Late Jurassic Chinese sauropods". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 18 (16): 1299–1393. Bibcode:2020JSPal..18.1299M. doi:10.1080/14772019.2020.1759706. eISSN   1478-0941. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   219749618.
  7. Mannion, Philip D.; Upchurch, Paul; Jin, Xingsheng; Zheng, Wenjie (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): 191057. Bibcode:2019RSOS....691057M. doi: 10.1098/rsos.191057 . ISSN   2054-5703. PMC   6731702 . PMID   31598266.
  8. Xu, L., Pan, Z.C., Wang, Z.H., Zhang, X.L., Jia, S.H., Lü, J.C., Jiang, B.L., 2012. Discovery and significance of the Cretaceous system in Ruyang Basin, Henan Province. Geological Review 58, 601-613.