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| Xingxiulong yueorum |
ABSTRACT
The Lufeng Formation of Lufeng City, Yunnan Province, China, is one of the most important sedimentary units for understanding the evolution of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorph dinosaurs. Here, a new species of the early-diverging sauropodomorph Xingxiulong from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation is erected on the basis of a postcranial skeleton. Xingxiulong yueorum, sp. nov. is distinguished from Xingxiulong chengi by possessing a pendant-shaped fourth trochanter with distal termination, an astragalus with almost straight dorsal margin of the posterior surface, and pedal digit V with two phalanges. A phylogenetic analysis supports the monophyly of genus Xingxiulong. Both the two species of Xingxiulong have four sacral vertebrae, which are typically associated with the late-diverging sauropodiforms and sauropods, suggesting a complex early evolution within the sauropodomorphs. This discovery adds to the diversity of the sauropodomorphs from the Lufeng Formation and contributes to our understanding of the intricate patterns characterising the early evolution of sauropodomorphs in Asia.
KEYWORDS: Early jurassic, Lufeng, Sauropodomorpha, Xingxiulong, diversity
Xingxiulong yueorum, sp. nov.
Xiang-Yuan Chen, Ya-Ming Wang, Qian-Nan Zhang, Tao Wang and Hai-Lu You. 2025. A New Species of Xingxiulong (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) from the lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China. Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology
