A new genus and species of Ankylosaurus has been identified from an articulated partial skeleton discovered in southern China in 1986.
The newly discovered species was an early member of a family called armored dinosaurs. ankylosauridae.
dubbing Huaxiazhou Longshouwen the ancient animal was about 6 meters (20 feet) long.
In a paper, paleontologist Ziheng Zhu of Yunnan University and colleagues write, “Sclerosaurs were quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs characterized by sagittal osteodermal rows on the dorsolateral surface of their bodies and heavily armored skulls. It is a diverse clade of
“Ankylosaurs lived from the Middle Jurassic to the end of the Late Cretaceous.”
“As a subgroup of the scleractylids, scleractyl dinosaurs are currently found only in Asia and North America. In Asia, they were primarily found in Mongolia and northern China.”
fossilized remains of an adult Huaxiazhou Longshouwen It was discovered in a mineral deposit in 1986. Karabe formation In Longxi Village, Jiangxi Province, southern China.
“This deposit is a series of Late Cretaceous strata, represented by an extensive series of red mudstones, sandstones, and conglomerates,” the researchers wrote.
“This series of strata is locally classified as the Karabe Formation, which belongs to the Katsurabo Formation Group.''
“We got some pieces of dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs.”
This specimen dates from the Late Cretaceous Period, 84 to 72 million years ago.
It was excavated by paleontologists from the Guangchang County Museum and consists of a partial articulated skeleton without a skull and mandible.
“Huaxiazhou Longshouwen “This is the second ankylosaurid species discovered in China's Jiangxi province,” the scientists wrote in their paper.
“According to phylogenetic analysis, Huaxiazhou Longshouwen is a basal member of the ankylosaurid family. ”
“Next discovery Huaxiazhou Longshouwen It adds diversity to the Late Cretaceous of China and helps elucidate the evolution of ankylosaurid dinosaurs in East Asia. ”
of paper Published in this month's magazine historical biology.
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Zhu Zihyung others. A new species of ankylosaurid dinosaur discovered from the late Cretaceous period in Jiangxi Province, southern China. historical biologypublished online on November 8, 2024. doi: 10.1080/08912963.2024.2417208
Source: www.sci.news