Qianjiangsaurus
| Qianjiangsaurus Temporal range:
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Ornithopoda |
| Clade: | †Hadrosauriformes |
| Superfamily: | †Hadrosauroidea |
| Genus: | †Qianjiangsaurus Dai et al., 2024 |
| Species: | †Q. changshengi
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| Binomial name | |
| †Qianjiangsaurus changshengi Dai et al., 2024
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Qianjiangsaurus (meaning "Qianjiang lizard") is an extinct genus of hadrosauroidean ornithopod dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Zhengyang Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Q. changshengi, known from a partial skeleton.[1]
Discovery and naming
The Qianjiangsaurus holotype specimen, CLGRP V00016, was discovered by a paleontological expedition associated with the Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development during the winter of 2022. The locality represents sediments of the Zhengyang Formation near Zhengyang area in Qianjiang District, Chongqing Municipality of southwest China. The specimen consists of a partial, somewhat articulated skeleton, comprising an incomplete mandible, four dorsal vertebrae, the sacrum, many caudal vertebrae and associated chevrons, most of the pelvic girdle, and several hindlimb bones.[1]
In 2024, Dai et al. described Qianjiangsaurus changshengi as a new genus and species of hadrosauroid dinosaurs based on these fossil remains. The generic name, Qianjiangsaurus, combines "Qianjiang"—the name of the district containing the type locality—with the Greek σαῦρος (sauros), meaning 'lizard'. The specific name, changshengi, Changsheng Wang, the discoverer of the Chongqing fossil locality.[1]
Description
The holotype of Qianjiangsaurus likely represents a mature adult individual. It is medium-sized in comparison to related taxa, at about 8 metres (26 ft) long.[1]
Classification
In their phylogenetic analyses, Dai et al. (2024) recovered Qianjiangsaurus as the sister taxon to the Mongolian Plesiohadros of the Djadokhta Formation,[2] with these taxa as late-diverging members of the Hadrosauroidea outside of the Hadrosauridae. Their results are displayed in the cladogram below:[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Dai, Hui; Ma, Qingyu; Xiong, Can; Lin, Yu; Zeng, Hui; Tan, Chao; Wang, Jun; Zhang, Yuguang; Xing, Hai (2024-08-27). "A new late-diverging non-hadrosaurid hadrosauroid (Dinosauria: Ornithopoda) from southwest China: support for interchange of dinosaur faunas across East Asia during the Late Cretaceous". Cretaceous Research (in press): 105995. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105995. ISSN 0195-6671.
- ^ Tsogtbaatar, K.; Weishampel, D.; Evans, D. C.; Watabe, M. (2014). "A New Hadrosauroid (Plesiohadros djadokhtaensis) from the Late Cretaceous Djadokhtan Fauna of Southern Mongolia". In Eberth, D. A.; Evans, D. C. (eds.). Hadrosaurs. Indiana University Press. pp. 108−135. ISBN 978-0-253-01385-9.
