Tonganosaurus
Tonganosaurus | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | †Sauropoda |
Family: | †Mamenchisauridae |
Genus: | †Tonganosaurus Li et al., 2010 |
Species: | †T. hei
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Binomial name | |
†Tonganosaurus hei Li et al., 2010
|
Tonganosaurus (named for the town of Tong'an, Sichuan where it was found) is a genus of mamenchisaurid sauropod dinosaur, similar to Omeisaurus. It is known from one specimen consisting of twenty vertebrae, a front limb and pectoral girdle, and a complete hind limb with partial hip. It was discovered in the Yimen Formation, China.[1] The horizon of the specimen and the age of the Yimen Formation is controversial. The formation has been divided into three levels, and Tonganosaurus appears to be of late Early Jurassic (Pliensbachian) age.[2] Tonganosaurus is the oldest known member of the mamenchisaurids, being almost 15 million years older than the next-oldest members of the group. It was first named by Li Kui, Yang Chun-Yan, Liu Jian and Wang Zheng-Xin in 2010 and the type species is Tonganosaurus hei.[3]
Description
The ratio of the front and rear limbs is 0.80. The tibia was straight and thick, with a length 75% that of the femur. The holotype is an incomplete skeleton of an adult sauropod. The skeleton of Tonganosaurus has been calculated in size, using Omeisaurus as reference, at 11.6 metres (38 ft) long. In life, it was probably a little bigger, about 12 metres (39 ft).[3]
History of discovery
In 2007, the
Paleoenvironment
Tonganosaurus holotype comes from the Upper section of the
References
- ^ Yang, C.Y. (2013). "Systematic analysis method of Sauropod: a case study of 486 Tonganosaurus hei". Acta Geologica Sinica. 87 (1): 1826–1833.
- ^ Yuan, C. M. (1986). "The division and comparison of "Yimen red beds" from Sichuan". Journal of Stratigraphy. 10 (2): 116–120.
- ^ a b c Li, Kui; Yang, Chun-Yan; Liu, Jian; Wang, Zheng-Xin (2010). "A new sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Jurassic of Huili, Sichuan, China" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica. 48 (3): 185–202.
- ^ Xing, L D; Lockley, M G; You, H L; Peng, G Z; Tang, X; Ran, H; Wang, T; Hu, J; Persons, W S (2016). "Early Jurassic sauropod tracks from the Yimen Formation of Panxi region, Southwest China: Ichnotaxonomy and potential trackmaker" (PDF). 35 (6): 851–855. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
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(help) - ^ Gu, X; Liu, X; Li, Z (1997). Stratigraphy (lithostratic) of Sichuan Province. Wuhan: China University of Geosciences Press. pp. 1–417.
- . Retrieved 23 February 2022.
- ^ Wang, R.Z. (1988). The Sedimentary Cover and its History of Geological Development in Xichang–Central Yunnan Area. Chongqing: Chongqing Publishing House. pp. 1–301.