Dongyangosaurus

Dongyangosaurus is a genus of saltasaurid sauropod dinosaur from the early Late Cretaceous.[1] The only species is Dongyangosaurus sinensis, from which only a single fragmentary skeleton is known, coming from the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It was described and named by Lü Junchang and colleagues[2] Like other sauropods, Dongyangosaurus would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore.[3]

Dongyangosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 100.5–85 Ma
Holotype
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Suborder: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Clade: †Eusauropoda
Clade: †Neosauropoda
Clade: †Macronaria
Clade: †Titanosauria
Clade: †Lithostrotia
Family: †Saltasauridae
Genus: †Dongyangosaurus
Lü et al., 2008
Species:
†D. sinensis
Binomial name
†Dongyangosaurus sinensis
Lü et al., 2008

Description

The only skeleton (holotype DYM 04888) is stored in the Dongyang Museum (Dongyang, Zhejiang). It consists of ten dorsal vertebrae, the sacrum, two caudal vertebrae as well as the complete pelvis. The skeleton was found articulated.[2]

Dongyangosaurus was a midsized sauropod, measuring approximately 50 ft (15 m) in length and 15 ft (5 m) in height. The dorsal vertebrae were characterized by eye shaped pleurocoels and low bifurcated neural spines. The sacrum consisted of six fused sacral vertebrae, a feature unique to somphospondylans.[1] The caudal vertebrae were amphicoelous (concave anteriorly and posteriorly). The pubis was shorter than the ischium. The obturator foramen was narrow and extended.[2]

Systematics

When this genus was first described, it was thought to be a titanosauriform of uncertain placement. In 2013, however, it was found to be a saltasaurid closely related to the Mongolian sauropod Opisthocoelicaudia.[1] In 2019, this was again changed to a position outside of the Lithostrotia.[4]

Discovery

The Upper Cretaceous of Zhejiang is known for its fossil dinosaur eggs. Skeletal remains are rarely found; the only described dinosaurs are the sauropod Jiangshanosaurus from the Jinhua Formation, the theropod Chilantaisaurus zhejiangensis, and the nodosaurid Zhejiangosaurus from the Chaochuan Formation. Dongyangosaurus comes from the Fangyan Formation. The age of this unit is not clear yet; however, it is considered early Upper Cretaceous by most researchers.[2]

The specimen was found in 2007 in the village of Baidian within the city of Dongyang, from which the generic name is derived. The specific name, sinensis, is Greek for from 'China'.[2]

References
  1. Mannion, Philip D.; Upchurch, Paul; Barnes, Rosie N.; Mateus, Octávio (2013). "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 168: 98–206. doi:10.1111/zoj.12029.
  2. Lu Junchang; Yoichi Azuma; Chen Rongjun; Zheng Wenjie; Jin Xingsheng (2008). "A new titanosauriform sauropod from the early Late Cretaceous of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province". Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition). 82 (2): 225–235. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.2008.tb00572.x.
  3. Upchurch, Paul; Barrett, Paul M.; Dodson, Peter (2004). "Sauropoda". In Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 259–322. ISBN 978-0-520-24209-8.
  4. Philip D. Mannion; Paul Upchurch; Xingsheng Jin; Wenjie Zheng. 2019. "New information on the Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs of Zhejiang Province, China: impact on Laurasian titanosauriform phylogeny and biogeography". Royal Society Open Science. 6(8): Article ID 191057
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