Klamelisaurus
| Klamelisaurus Temporal range: 170Ma | |
|---|---|
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| Skeleton cast | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | Sauropodomorpha |
| Infraorder: | Sauropoda |
| Family: | Euhelopodidae |
| Genus: | Klamelisaurus Zhao, 1993 |
| Type species | |
| K. gobiensis Zhao, 1993 | |
Klamelisaurus is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. It was similar to Bellusaurus, of which it may actually be an adult specimen and thus a junior synonym. It was found in the Gobi desert of Asia.
In 1982 at Kelamaili, north of Jiangjunmiao in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang province, the remains were discovered of a sauropod.
The type species Klamelisaurus gobiensis was named and described by Zhao Xijin in 1993. The generic name refers to Kelamaili, of which "Klameli" is a spelling variant. The specific name refers to the Gobi.[1]
The holotype, IVPP V9492, was found in a layer of the Shishugou Formation dating from the Oxfordian, about 160 million year old. It consists of a partial skeleton lacking the skull. The postcranial skeleton is rather complete, missing only the front part of the neck, the left shoulder girdle, the left forelimb and the feet.[1] The quality of the bones was poor and deteriorated during preparation.
Klamelisaurus was a medium-sized sauropod. In 2010, Gregory S. Paul estimated its length at fifteen metres, its weight at five tonnes, at the same time presuming it represented the adult form of Bellusaurus.[2]
Zhao in 1993 established a single explicit autapomorphy: the upper end of the ulna is expanded.[1]
In 1993 Klamelisaurus was assigned to the Brachiosauridae within the Bothrosauropodoidea. Zhao named a special Klamelisaurinae of which Klemelisaurus was the only member.[1] Modern research indicates that Klamelisaurus is probably basally positioned in the Eusauropoda, outside of the Neosauropoda, and a possible member of the Euhelopidae.