Ferganasaurus

Ferganasaurus (meaning "Fergana Valley lizard") was a genus of dinosaur first formally described in 2003 by Alifanov and Averianov. The type species is Ferganasaurus verzilini. It was a sauropod similar to Rhoetosaurus. Ferganasaurus is known exclusively from the Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan, which dates to the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic.[1]

Ferganasaurus
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic, Callovian
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Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Sauropsida
Superorder:
Dinosauria
Order:
Saurischia
Suborder:
†Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder:
†Sauropoda
Genus:
†Ferganasaurus

Alifanov & Averianov, 2003
Binomial name
†Ferganasaurus verzilini
Alifanov & Averianov, 2003

Discovery and naming

The holotype, PIN N 3042/1, was discovered in 1966 by Kurzanov and Rhozdestvensky in Middle Jurassic (Callovian)-aged rocks from the Balabansai Formation, Kyrgyzstan, but it was subsequently lost with only drawings of the holotype remaining. A 2000 expedition into the Balabansai Formaiton yielded a second specimen of Ferganasaurus, but despite this new material, and the drawings of the originals, no cranial material has ever been attributed to Ferganasaurus. In 2003, the species Freganasaurus verzilini was described by Alifanov & Averianov.[1]

Description

Ferganasaurus grew up to 9 metres (30 ft) long and around 2 metres (6.6 ft) tall at the hips (based on the length of the femur),[1] with an estimated body mass of 5.34 tonnes (11,800 lb).[2]

References
  1. Alifanov, Vladimir R.; Averianov, Alexander O. (2003-06-17). "Ferganasaurus verzilini, gen. et sp. nov., a new neosauropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia, Sauropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Fergana Valley, Kirghizia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 23 (2): 358–372. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2003)023[0358:fvgesn]2.0.co;2. ISSN 0272-4634.
  2. Paul, G.S., 2010, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 339
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