Friday, November 29

Paleontologists Discover New Species of Ankylosaurid Dinosaur

A brand-new genus and types of ankylosaur has actually been recognized from an articulated and partial skeleton discovered in 1986 in southern China.

The creative restoration of Huaxiazhoulong shouwenImage credit: Ye Jianhao.

The newly-discovered types was an early member of a household of armored dinosaurs called Ankylosauridae.

Called Huaxiazhoulong shouwenthe ancient animal was roughly 6 m (20 feet) in length.

“Ankylosauria is a varied clade of quadrupedal herbivorous dinosaurs defined by parasagittal rows of osteoderms on the dorsolateral surface area of the body and a greatly armored skull,” Yunnan University paleontologist Ziheng Zhu and associates composed in their paper.

“Ankylosaurs lived from the Middle Jurassic to the end of the Late Cretaceous date.”

“As a subgroup of Ankylosauria, ankylosaurid dinosaurs are presently just discovered in Asia and North America. In Asia, they were generally discovered in Mongolia and northern China.”

The fossilized remains of an adult person of Huaxiazhoulong shouwen were discovered in 1986 in the deposits of the Tangbian Formation at Longxi town, Jiangxi province, southern China.

“The deposits are a set of Late Cretaceous strata, represented by a substantial series of red mudstones, sandstones and corporations,” the scientists composed.

“This set of strata is categorized in your area as the Tangbian Formation, which comes from Guifeng Group.”

“It has actually yielded some pieces of dinosaurs and dinosaur eggs.”

The specimen dates to the Late Cretaceous date, in between 84 and 72 million years earlier.

Excavated by Guangchang County Museum paleontologists, it includes an articulated and partial skeleton without skull and mandible.

Huaxiazhoulong shouwen is the 2nd ankylosaurid types found in China’s Jiangxi province,” the researchers composed in the paper.

“Phylogenetic analysis recommends that Huaxiazhoulong shouwen is a basal member of Ankylosauridae.”

“The finding of Huaxiazhoulong shouwen includes variety to the Late Cretaceous of China, and assists illuminate the advancement of ankylosaurid dinosaurs in East Asia.”

The paper was released this month in the journal Historic Biology

_____

Ziheng Zhu et alA brand-new ankylosaurid dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Jiangxi Province, southern China. Historic Biologyreleased online November 8, 2024; doi: 10.1080/ 08912963.2024.2417208

ยป …
Learn more