Changchunsaurus
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| Changchunsaurus parvus Zan Shu-Qin, Chen Jun, Jin Li-Yong, and Li Tao, 2005 |
Changchunsaurus (meaning "Changchun lizard") was a genus of small herbivorous ornithopod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Quantou Formation of Gongzhuling, Jilin, China. It is known from a skull and skeleton, and additional skull fragments. It is the first named dinosaur genus from Jilin.
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[edit] Description
Changchunsaurus is based on JLUM L0403-j–Zn2, a skeleton and skull, with a premaxilla (upper beak) and partial lower jaw also known. Only the skull was figured and described in the official description. According to Zan Shu-Qin, Chen Jun, Jin Li-Yong, and Li Tao, who described it, the animal shows a combination of features like those of derived ornithopods (reduction in size or loss of some skull fenestrae or holes), and features like those of more basal ornithopods (for example, five teeth in each premaxilla, short toothless portion of upper beak, and a small gap between beak teeth and cheek teeth). There is a projection that sticks out from the side of the jugal or cheekbone, with what is described as a "nubble structure".[1]
The type individual was a small animal, around 1 meter long (3.3 feet, with a skull 11.5 centimeters long (4.5 inches). The type and only known species is C. parvus ("parvus" meaning "petite"), named for its small size. It is presently classified as a basal ornithopod, family unknown, although it was not included in a formal phylogenetic analysis.[1]
[edit] Paleobiology
As a small basal ornithopod, Changchunsaurus would have been a swift bipedal herbivore, feeding close to the ground.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ a b Zan Shu-Qin; Chen Jun; Jin Li-Yong; and Li Tao (2005). "A primitive ornithopod from the Early Cretaceous Quantou Formation of Central Jilin, China" (in Chinese with English summary). Vertebrata Palasiatica 43 (3): 182-193.
- ^ Norman, David B.; Sues, Hans-Dieter; Witmer, Larry M.; and Coria, Rodolfo A. (2004). "Basal Ornithopoda", in Weishampel, David B.; Osmólska, Halszka; and Dodson, Peter (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press, 393-412. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
[edit] External links
- Changchunsaurus at Dinosaur.net.cn, with the article summary and photograph. (slow-loading)
- Changchunsaurus at Thescelosaurus! (under Ornithopoda i.s.).
