Heishansaurus
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| Heishansaurus Fossil range: Late Cretaceous |
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| Heishansaurus pachycephalus Bohlin, 1953 |
Heishansaurus, meaning "Heishan lizard" after the area in China where it was discovered, is the name given to a dubious genus of dinosaur. First described in 1953 as a pachycephalosaur, this dinosaur may actually be an ankylosaur. The fossils, dating from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian or Maastrichtian stage), are fragmentary, and the genus is considered a nomen dubium. The type (and only known) specimen is Heishansaurus pachycephalus (pachycephalus means "thick-headed").
[edit] Fossils
The material consists of poorly preserved cranial and postcranial fragments plus some dermal scutes. They were found in the Minhe Formation, near Heishan (= "Black Mountain"), Gansu Province, China.
[edit] References
- Fossil reptiles from Mongolia and Kansu. Bohlin, B. Report of the Scientific Expedition to northwest China, Publ. 37 (6); 1-105 (1953).
- A taxonomic review of the Pachycephalosauridae (Dinosauria: Ornithischia). Sullivan, R. Late Cretaceous vertebrates from the Western Interior. Lucas et al (eds), New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 35; 347-365 (2006).
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