Thursday, October 3, 2019

[Paleontology • 2018] Liaoningotitan sinesis • A New Titanosauriformes Dinosaur from Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, China


 Liaoningotitan sinesis 
Zhou, Wu, Sekiya & Dong, 2018


Abstract 
A nearly complete sauropod skeleton, collected from the Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, is described briefly as a new titanosauriformes, Liaoningotitan sinesis gen. et sp. nov. Its diagnostic characters include:ventral margin of maxilla is convex, upper tooth row is short and anteriorly positioned; anterior extension of jugal nearly reaches the level of the anterior margin of the antorbital fenestra; quadrate wing of the pterygoid constricted basally; upper teeth are imbricated, narrow spatulate crown is D-shaped in cross section, with labial grooves and denticles absent; well reduced and un-imbricated nine lower teeth; lower tooth crown is asymmetric, elliptical-like in cross section, lingual grooves and ridge present, basal crown bulbous lingually; proximal expansion of the humerus is about 54.9% the length of the humerus, ilium with a pointed preacetabular process. Preliminary result of the phylogenetic analysis shows that Liaoningotitan falls into the clade of titanosauriformes, and is more derived than Euhelopus and Brachiosaurus.

Keywords: western Liaoning, Jehol Biota, Early Cretaceous,  Yixian Formation, titanosauriformes

Fig 1: Skull and lower jaws of Liaoningotitan sinesis gen. et sp. nov.




Zhou Chang-fu, Wu Wen-hao, Sekiya Toru and Dong Zhi-ming. 2018. A New Titanosauriformes Dinosaur from Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, China.Global Geology.  37(2); 327-333 DOI: 10.3969/j.issn.1004-5589.2018.02.001 

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