Jiangxisaurus
Jiangxisaurus | |
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Restoration | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | Theropoda |
Family: | †Oviraptoridae |
Genus: | †Jiangxisaurus Wei et al., 2013 |
Species: | †J. ganzhouensis
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Binomial name | |
†Jiangxisaurus ganzhouensis Wei et al., 2013
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Jiangxisaurus is an
. It was similar to Heyuannia, but with more strongly curved anterior claws and a thinner, frailer mandible. [1] 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.Etymology
The genus name Jiangxisaurus, refers to the Jiangxi Province of southern China. The specific name ganzhouensis, is derived from Ganzhou, the locality where the specimen was discovered. Jiangxisaurus was described and named by Wei Xuefang, Pu Hanyong, Xu Li, Liu Di, and Lü Junchang in 2013 and the type species is Jiangxisaurus ganzhouensis.
Description
The
Classification
Jiangxisaurus was assigned to the taxon oviraptoridae. This genus shares several traits with other oviraptorids, including a short narrow skull with a toothless jaw, and anterior cerivcal vertebrae that bear pleurocoels. In contrast to its nearest relatives, Jiangxisaurus has an elongated mandible and a less pronounced down-turned rostrum on its lower jaw.
Distinguishing anatomical features
A diagnosis is a statement of the anatomical features of an organism (or group) that collectively distinguish it from all other organisms. Some, but not all, of the features in a diagnosis are also autapomorphies. An autapomorphy is a distinctive anatomical feature that is unique to a given organism.
According to Wei et al. (2013), Jiangxisaurus was a medium-sized oviraptorid dinosaur characterized by the following unique characters:
- the presence of a weakly down-turned mandibular symphysis
- a suprangularbone with an elongated and concave lateral surface
- a very elongated mandible, with a height-to-length ratio of about 20%
- a ratio of radius length to humerus length of about 70%
Paleoecology
Provenance and occurrence
The only known specimen of this genus was recovered at the Nankang locality of the
Fauna and habitat
The Nanxiong Formation consists of a 2000-meter sequence of red sandstones and clays which has yielded dinosaur fossils, dinosaur footprints and abundant egg shells.
See also
References
- .
- ^ "Nanxiong Formation". Archived from the original on 10 August 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2013.