Changchunsaurus

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iChangchunosaurus
Fossil range: Early Cretaceous
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Ornithischia
Suborder: Ornithopoda
Genus: Changchunsaurus
Binomial name
Changchunsaurus parvus
Zan et al., 2005

Changchunsaurus was a small (1 m long) dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Period. Changchunsaurus was named in 2005 for the city of Changchun, and is the first dinosaur genus reported from Jilin Province, China. The type and only known species is C. parvus, named for its small size. The type specimen is "a skeleton with complete skull" (Zan et al. 2005), but only the skull is figured/described in their paper. A broken premaxilla and a dentary were described as belonging to other individuals of this species. C. parvus has an interesting combination of primitive and derived ornithopod characters, but has not yet been included in a formal phylogenetic analysis. It is presently classified as a basal ornithopod, Family Incertae sedis.

[edit] References

  • Tweet, Justin S., 2005. http://www.users.qwest.net/~jstweet1/ornithopoda.htm
  • Zan Shu-Qin, Chen Jun, Jin Li-Yong & Li Tao, 2005. A primitive ornithopod from the Early Cretaceous Quantou Formation of Central Jilin, China. Vertebrata Palasiatica 43 (3): 182-193 (In Chinese with English summary).
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