Tuojiangosaurus

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Tuojiangosaurus
Temporal range: Late Jurassic, 160Ma
↓
Mounted skeleton, Natural History Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: †Ornithischia
Suborder: †Stegosauria
Superfamily: †Stegosauroidea
Family: †Stegosauridae
Genus: †Tuojiangosaurus
Dong et al., 1977
Species: † T. multispinus
Binomial name
Tuojiangosaurus multispinus
Dong et al., 1977

Tuojiangosaurus (meaning "Tuo River lizard") is a genus of stegosaurid dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period, recovered from the Upper Shaximiao Formation of what is now Sichuan Province in China.

Description

Restoration

Physically similar to the North American Stegosaurus, Tuojiangosaurus is the best understood of the Chinese stegosaurids.[1] It was around 7 metres (23 ft) long and 2 metres (6.6 ft) high, with a postulated weight of around 4 tonnes (4.4 short tons).

Like Kentrosaurus, Tuojiangosaurus had two rows of pointed plates along the spine, which became taller over the hip region. It also had two outward-pointing spikes on each side of the end of the tail, angled at approximately 45 degrees to the vertical. In stegosaurids, this spike arrangement has become affectionately known as the "thagomizer". It also had the typical narrow head, bulky body, and low teeth of other stegosaurids.[1]

Because it lacked the tall spines for muscle attachment found on the vertebrae of Stegosaurus, it was probably unable to rear up on its hind legs like that animal. This suggests that it would have eaten low-lying, ground vegetation.[2]

Discovery

Skull of the mount

The type and only species, T. multispinus, was named in 1977 (exactly a hundred years after Stegosaurus) on the strength of two specimens, one over half complete.

A mounted skeleton of Tuojiangosaurus multispinus is on display at the Municipal Museum of Chongqing. In addition, a mounted cast is on display at the Natural History Museum, in London.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Benton, Michael J. (2012). Prehistoric Life. Edinburgh, Scotland: Dorling Kindersley. pp. 274–275. ISBN 978-0-7566-9910-9. 
  2. ↑ Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 156. ISBN 1-84028-152-9. 
  • Dong Zhiming (1988). Dinosaurs from China. China Ocean Press, Beijing & British Museum (Natural History). ISBN 0-565-01073-5. 
  • Dong Zhiming (1992). Dinosaurian Faunas of China. China Ocean Press, Beijing. ISBN 3-540-52084-8. 

External links

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