Chinese paleontologists have discovered fossil fragments of a new genus and species of titanosaurus, a sauropod dinosaur that walked the Earth during the Cretaceous period.
Muttjac titanum ganjoensis They lived in what is now China from 72 million years ago to 66 million years ago (late Cretaceous period).
The partial skeleton of this dinosaur was discovered in the Nanxiong Formation near Tankou Town, Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province, China.
The specimen consists of seven cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae, and several cervical and dorsal ribs.
Muttjac titanum ganjoensis belongs to the sauropod dinosaur group titanosauridae.
“Muttjac titanum ganjoensis It is unique among Asian titanosaurids in that it has a deeply bifurcated dorsal neck and anterodorsal neural spines, and a dorsoventrally compressed dorsal neck and anterodorsal center. Lead author Jin Yu Mo of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Natural History Museum and colleagues state in the paper. .
Muttjac titanum ganjoensis represents the second sauropod species. Nanyu Formation.
“The Late Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation is represented by an extensive succession of red mudstones, sandstones, and conglomerates,” the paleontologists wrote.
“Recent years have produced a wide variety of vertebrates, including theropods, ornithopods, crocodiles, turtles, lizards, and mammals, as well as vast numbers of dinosaur eggs.”
“There is only one species of sauropod, Ganansaurus sinensisrecorded in this area.
Team analysis points Muttjac titanum ganjoensis Within a group of deeply nested titanosaurs Rogoncosauria.
“Muttjac titanum ganjoensis Display features that indicate branch locations later than Ganansaurus sinensismore specifically, Muttjac titanum ganjoensis It was recovered as Rogoncosaurus, but Ganansaurus sinensis as titanosaurs outside of a late-branching clade containing Diamantina Sauria and lithostorozia” the researchers wrote.
“As a result, Muttjac titanum ganjoensis There are no duplicate elements with Ganansaurus sinensiswe are confident. Muttjac titanum ganjoensis is a different species from Ganansaurus sinensis”
The discovery of Muttjac titanum ganjoensis “This indicates the presence of both early-divergent and late-divergent titanosauroid sauropods in the Late Cretaceous Ganzhou dinosaur fauna,” the researchers added.
“This discovery also increases the diversity of titanosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Asia.”
of the team paper It was published in the magazine historical biology.
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Mo Jin Yoo other. A new species of titanosaur sauropod excavated from the Late Cretaceous period in Jiangxi Province, southern China. historical biology, published online on September 23, 2024. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2023.2259413
Source: www.sci.news
