Tianchisaurus

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Tianchisaurus Fossil range: Middle Jurassic
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Ornithischia Suborder: Thyreophora Infraorder: Ankylosauria Family: Ankylosauridae? Genus: Tianchisaurus Dong, 1993
Species
T. nedegoapeferima Dong, 1993 (type)

Tianchisaurus (meaning "heavenly pool lizard") is a genus of ankylosaurian dinosaur from the middle Jurassic Period (Bajocian-Bathonian stages) of China. If it actually belongs to the family Ankylosauridae as proposed by Dong Zhiming, it would be the earliest member of that family. Unlike other ankylosaurids, it lacked a bony club at the tip of its tail.

The type specimen was informally referred to as "Jurassosaurus" after the 1993 film Jurassic Park, and the binomial T. nedegoapeferima is formed from the surnames of the film's main stars: Sam Neil, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sir Richard Attenborough, Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Ariana Richards, and Joseph Mazzello. Director Steven Spielberg, who has funded Chinese dinosaur research, proposed the name. Dong Zhiming ultimately discarded the genus name "Jurassosaurus" (which is now a nomen nudum) in favor of Tianchisaurus, but retained the species name honoring the actors.

[edit] References

• Dong, Z. (1993). "An ankylosaur (ornithischian dinosaur) from the Middle Jurassic of the Junggar Basin, China." Vertebrata Palasiatica 31:258-264.

[edit] External links

• Tianchisaurus in the Dinosaur Encyclopedia