Gongxianosaurus

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Gongxianosaurus
Temporal range:
Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Genus: †Gongxianosaurus
Species:
†G. shibeiensis
Binomial name
†Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis
He et al., 1998
Synonyms

Gongxianosaurus is a genus of basal

China (Sichuan Province), it is one of the most completely known early sauropods. The skeleton is known in large part, missing both the hand and the majority of the skull.[2] Gongxianosaurus was firstly named and described in a short note published in 1998;[3] however, a comprehensive description has yet to be published.[4] Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis was named for the place it was found, near the village Shibei in Gong County (珙县; Pinyin: Gǒng Xiàn).[2]

Description

Gongxianosaurus may have reached 14 metres (46 ft) in length.

chevrons were unbifurcated.[2]

An important characteristic of sauropod limbs is their reduced ossification – the tendency to replace bone by cartilage. Gongxianosaurus is the only known sauropod with ossified distal tarsals. Thus, either Gongxianosaurus was one of the basalmost sauropods, or ossified distal tarsals were present in other early sauropods but are simply not preserved due to the fragmentation of the specimens.[5]

Classification

Sauropoda
Basal Sauropod phylogeny simplified after Apaldetti et al. (2011).[6]

Because the fossils are not fully described yet, available character information that can be used in cladistic analyses is limited. Thus, only few cladistical analyses have incorporated Gongxianosaurus. A recent analysis by Apaldetti et al. (2011) suggests that Gongxianosaurus was more basal than Vulcanodon, Tazoudasaurus and Isanosaurus, but more derived than the early sauropods Antetonitrus, Lessemsaurus, Blikanasaurus, Camelotia and Melanorosaurus.[6]

Discovery

Gongxianosaurus fossils were found near the village of Shibei (Sichuan province) in purple

prosauropod" Lufengosaurus but older than the basal sauropod Shunosaurus.[3]

The fossils were found in May 1997 during a geological exploration. Excavation started in the same month and led to the recovery of a wealth of fossils in an area of approximately 200 square meters. While most fossils pertain to a new sauropod genus, remains of

theropods have also been found.[3] The sauropod material includes four fragmentary to complete individuals similar in size, together encompassing most of the skeleton, though hand and skull bones were not found except a premaxilla and teeth. In 1998, the sauropod material was briefly described as a new genus and species, Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis, in a preliminary note by palaeontologists led by He Xinlu.[3] A more detailed description was announced, noting that excavation was still in progress while the paper was published.[3] In 2000, a second short description was published by Luo Yaonan and Wang Changsheng, also presenting Gongxianosaurus as a new sauropod and without mentioning the first description that was published two years before.[2][7] Also, much of the information published by Luo and Wang was already published by He and colleagues.[7]

Luo and Wang suggest that several bones may not pertain to the

Yibinosaurus zhoui" in 2001 and 2003 respectively by Ouyang Hui.[8][9]

The holotype of Gongxianosaurus was kept in situ and a protective exhibition hall was built over it. The exhibition hall subsequently collapsed, and the specimen was most likely destroyed.[10]

References

  1. ^ a b "Gongxianosaurus". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  2. ^
    ISSN 1755-6724
    .
  3. ^ a b c d e f He, Xinlu; Wang Changsheng; Liu Shangzhong; Zhou Fengyun; Liu Tuqiang; Cai Kaiji; Dai Bing (1998). "A new species of sauropod from the Early Jurassic of Gongxian Co., Sichuan". Acta Geologica Sichuan. 18 (1): 1–7.
  4. ISBN 978-0-520-24209-8
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-520-24623-2
    .
  6. ^
    PMID 22096511
    .
  7. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7864-1166-5
    .
  8. ^ Anonymous (2001). Chongqing Natural History Museum guidebook.
  9. Mamenchisaurus youngi and the systematics of mamenchisaurids
    . PhD thesis. Chengdu University of Technology. 176 pp.
  10. ISSN 0891-2963
    .
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gongxianosaurus&oldid=1202975982"