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A new titanosaurian sauropod from the Hekou Group (Lower Cretaceous) of the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, China.
PLoS One. 2014; 9(1):e85979.Plos

Abstract

Increased excavation of dinosaurs from China over the last two decades has enriched the record of Asian titanosauriform sauropods. However, the relationships of these sauropods remain contentious, and hinges on a few well-preserved taxa, such as Euhelopus zdanskyi. Here we describe a new sauropod, Yongjinglong datangi gen. nov. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Hekou Group in the Lanzhou Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern China. Yongjinglong datangi is characterized by the following unique combination of characters, including seven autapomorphies: long-crowned, spoon-shaped premaxillary tooth; axially elongate parapophyses on the cervical vertebra; very deep lateral pneumatic foramina on the lateral surfaces of the cervical and cranial dorsal vertebral centra; low, unbifurcated neural spine fused with the postzygapophyses to form a cranially-pointing, triangular plate in a middle dorsal vertebra; an "XI"-shaped configuration of the laminae on the arches of the middle dorsal vertebrae; a very long scapular blade with straight cranial and caudal edges; and a tall, deep groove on the lateral surface of the distal shaft of the radius. The new specimen shares several features with other sauropods: a pronounced M. triceps longus tubercle on the scapula and ventrolaterally elongated parapophyses in its cervical vertebra as in Euhelopodidae. Based on phylogenetic analyses Yongjinglong datangi is highly derived within Titanosauria, which suggests either a remarkable convergence with more basal titanosauriform sauropods in the Early Cretaceous or a retention of plesiomorphic features that were lost in other titanosaurians. The morphology and remarkable length of the scapulocoracoid reveal an unusual relationship between the shoulder and the middle trunk: the scapulocoracoid spans over half of the length of the trunk. The medial, notch-shaped coracoid foramen and the partially fused scapulocoracoid synostosis suggest that the specimen is a subadult individual. This specimen sheds new light on the diversity of Early Cretaceous Titanosauriformes in China.

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Authors+Show Affiliations

Li LG
School of Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Beijing, China ; School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
Li DQ
Gansu Geological Museum, Lanzhou, China.
You HL
Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China.
Dodson P
School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.

MeSH

AnimalsChinaDinosaursExtinction, BiologicalFossilsGenetic SpeciationPhylogenySkullSpineTooth

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

Language

eng

PubMed ID

24489684

Citation

Li, Li-Guo, et al. "A New Titanosaurian Sauropod From the Hekou Group (Lower Cretaceous) of the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, China." PloS One, vol. 9, no. 1, 2014, pp. e85979.
Li LG, Li DQ, You HL, et al. A new titanosaurian sauropod from the Hekou Group (Lower Cretaceous) of the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, China. PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e85979.
Li, L. G., Li, D. Q., You, H. L., & Dodson, P. (2014). A new titanosaurian sauropod from the Hekou Group (Lower Cretaceous) of the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, China. PloS One, 9(1), e85979. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085979
Li LG, et al. A New Titanosaurian Sauropod From the Hekou Group (Lower Cretaceous) of the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, China. PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e85979. PubMed PMID: 24489684.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - A new titanosaurian sauropod from the Hekou Group (Lower Cretaceous) of the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin, Gansu Province, China. AU - Li,Li-Guo, AU - Li,Da-Qing, AU - You,Hai-Lu, AU - Dodson,Peter, Y1 - 2014/01/29/ PY - 2013/04/15/received PY - 2013/12/02/accepted PY - 2014/2/4/entrez PY - 2014/2/4/pubmed PY - 2014/9/30/medline SP - e85979 EP - e85979 JF - PloS one JO - PLoS One VL - 9 IS - 1 N2 - Increased excavation of dinosaurs from China over the last two decades has enriched the record of Asian titanosauriform sauropods. However, the relationships of these sauropods remain contentious, and hinges on a few well-preserved taxa, such as Euhelopus zdanskyi. Here we describe a new sauropod, Yongjinglong datangi gen. nov. et sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Hekou Group in the Lanzhou Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern China. Yongjinglong datangi is characterized by the following unique combination of characters, including seven autapomorphies: long-crowned, spoon-shaped premaxillary tooth; axially elongate parapophyses on the cervical vertebra; very deep lateral pneumatic foramina on the lateral surfaces of the cervical and cranial dorsal vertebral centra; low, unbifurcated neural spine fused with the postzygapophyses to form a cranially-pointing, triangular plate in a middle dorsal vertebra; an "XI"-shaped configuration of the laminae on the arches of the middle dorsal vertebrae; a very long scapular blade with straight cranial and caudal edges; and a tall, deep groove on the lateral surface of the distal shaft of the radius. The new specimen shares several features with other sauropods: a pronounced M. triceps longus tubercle on the scapula and ventrolaterally elongated parapophyses in its cervical vertebra as in Euhelopodidae. Based on phylogenetic analyses Yongjinglong datangi is highly derived within Titanosauria, which suggests either a remarkable convergence with more basal titanosauriform sauropods in the Early Cretaceous or a retention of plesiomorphic features that were lost in other titanosaurians. The morphology and remarkable length of the scapulocoracoid reveal an unusual relationship between the shoulder and the middle trunk: the scapulocoracoid spans over half of the length of the trunk. The medial, notch-shaped coracoid foramen and the partially fused scapulocoracoid synostosis suggest that the specimen is a subadult individual. This specimen sheds new light on the diversity of Early Cretaceous Titanosauriformes in China. SN - 1932-6203 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/24489684/A_new_titanosaurian_sauropod_from_the_Hekou_Group__Lower_Cretaceous__of_the_Lanzhou_Minhe_Basin_Gansu_Province_China_ DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -