Wuerhosaurus
Wuerhosaurus | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Restoration of W. homheni with low plates | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | †Ornithischia |
Clade: | †Thyreophora |
Clade: | †Stegosauria |
Family: | †Stegosauridae |
Subfamily: | † Stegosaurinae
|
Genus: | †Wuerhosaurus Dong, 1973[1] |
Type species | |
Wuerhosaurus homheni Dong, 1973[1]
| |
Species | |
Synonyms | |
|
Wuerhosaurus is a
Discovery and species
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/50/Wuerhosaurus-Paleozoological_Museum_of_China.jpg/220px-Wuerhosaurus-Paleozoological_Museum_of_China.jpg)
Wuerhosaurus homheni is the
A smaller stegosaur from the Ejinhoro Formation in the Ordos Basin in Inner Mongolia was found in 1988. When the specimen (IVPP V.6877) was described by Dong in 1993, it was named W. ordosensis, as it was from a similar age and had a similar anatomy. The holotype of the species includes a nearly complete torso, consisting of three cervical vertebrae, all eleven dorsal vertebrae (with attached ribs), a complete sacrum with a right ilium, and the first five caudal vertebrae, all articulated. An additional dorsal vertebra and dermal plate were referred to the taxon when it was named.[2] In 2014 Ulansky named a new species of Wuerhosaurus, "W. mongoliensis" for vertebrae and pelvic material, but the name is an invalid nomen nudum.[5] It was formally described as Mongolostegus in 2018.
Description
Wuerhosaurus homheni was probably a broad-bodied animal, reaching 7 metres (23 ft) in length and 4 metric tons (4.4 short tons) in body mass.[6] Only a few scattered bones have been found, making a full restoration difficult.[3] Its dorsal plates were at first thought to have been much rounder or flatter than other stegosaurids,[7] but Maidment established this was an illusion caused by breakage: their actual form is unknown. W. homheni had a pelvis of which the front of the ilia strongly flared outwards indicating a very broad belly. The neural spines on the tail base were exceptionally tall.
In contrast, W. ordosensis was much smaller, estimated by Paul to have been 5 m (16 ft) long and weigh 1.2 metric tons (1.3 short tons). It had a relatively long neck with a broad pelvis, but the neural spines are shorter.[6]
Classification
Phylogeny
Wuerhosaurus is one of the most derived stegosaurians, being closely related to either
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/55/Wuerhosaurus_homheni.png/220px-Wuerhosaurus_homheni.png)
Stegosauria |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Synonymy with Stegosaurus
Maidment and colleagues proposed in
Paleobiology
Wuerhosaurus was lower to the ground than most other stegosaurids; scientists believe that this was an adaptation to let it feed on low-growing vegetation. Wuerhosaurus, like other stegosaurids, perhaps had a thagomizer on the end of its tail, like that of Stegosaurus which featured four bony spikes that would most likely have been used for self-defense. A single spike was found but was seen by Dong as being positioned on the shoulder.
Paleoecology
The type species, W. homheni, is known from the
See also
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/df/Wikispecies-logo.svg/34px-Wikispecies-logo.svg.png)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
References
- ^ a b c d e Dong, Z. (1973). "Dinosaurs from Wuerho". Reports of Paleontological Expedition to Sinkiang (II): Pterosaurian Fauna from Wuerho, Sinkiang (in Chinese). Vol. 11. Memoirs of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Academia Sinica. pp. 45–52.
- ^ doi:10.1139/e93-188.
- ^ ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
- ISBN 978-0-521-43810-0.
- .
- ^ ISBN 978-0-691-16766-4.
- ISBN 0-7853-0443-6.
- ISBN 978-0-253-33964-5.
- S2CID 10930309.
- ^ S2CID 85673680.
- ^ S2CID 55613546.
- ^ S2CID 85068121.
- ^ Donovan, T. (2002). "RE: Tsagantsabian age". Dinosaur Mailing List. Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 2018-01-08.
- S2CID 233129489.
- ^ Queensl, The University of; Lucia, Australia Brisbane St; Gatton, QLD 4072 +61 7 3365 1111 Other Campuses: UQ; Maps, UQ Herston; Queensl, Directions © 2021 The University of. "Tiny cat-sized stegosaur leaves its mark". UQ News. Retrieved 2021-04-19.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
- Dong Zhiming (1992). Dinosaurian Faunas of China. China Ocean Press, Beijing. ISBN 3-540-52084-8.