Zhongyuansaurus

Zhongyuansaurus Temporal range: Cretaceous
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Order:	†Ornithischia
Family:	†Ankylosauridae
Subfamily:	†Ankylosaurinae
Genus:	†Zhongyuansaurus Xu et al., 2007
Species:	† Z. luoyangensis
Binomial name
Zhongyuansaurus luoyangensis Xu et al., 2007

Zhongyuansaurus is an extinct genus of ankylosaurid ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Ruyang, Henan, China. It is known from remains including skull, arm, pelvic, and tail bones. It is distinguished by characteristics such as a flat roof to the skull, a straight ischium, and the location of muscle attachments on the upper arm. The type species, Z. luoyangensis, was described by Xu and colleagues in 2007. Zhongyuansaurus was described by Xu et al. as the first Chinese nodosaurid based primarily upon the absence of a tail club and its elongate skull,^[1] but was reevaluated in 2008 by Kenneth Carpenter and colleagues as a shamosaurine ankylosaurid, a type of ankylosaurid lacking a tail club.^[2] A new cladistic analysis performed by Thompson et al., 2011 suggests that Zhongyuansaurus is the basalmost known ankylosaurine and thus it is the only known species of this clade that lacking a tail club.^[3]

See also

• Timeline of ankylosaur research

References

Thyreophora Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Clade: Dinosauria Order: Ornithischia   Major clades Ankylosauria Stegosauria   Basal Thyreophorans Thyreophora Emausaurus Scutellosaurus Tatisaurus Thyreophoroidea Scelidosauridae Bienosaurus Lusitanosaurus Scelidosaurus Eurypoda Ankylosauria Stegosauria   Stegosauria Basal Stegosaurs Gigantspinosaurus Huayangosauridae Chungkingosaurus Huayangosaurus Regnosaurus Stegosauridae Amargastegos Chialingosaurus Dravidosaurus Jiangjunosaurus Kentrosaurus Loricatosaurus Tuojiangosaurus Dacentrurinae Dacentrurus Miragaia Stegosaurinae Hesperosaurus Lexovisaurus Paranthodon Stegosaurus Wuerhosaurus Yingshanosaurus   Ankylosauria Ankylosauridae Aletopelta Cedarpelta Gobisaurus Liaoningosaurus Minmi Shamosaurus Ankylosaurinae Ahshislepelta Crichtonpelta Minotaurasaurus Oohkotokia Pinacosaurus Tarchia Tsagantegia Saichania Shanxia Zaraapelta Zhongyuansaurus Ankylosaurini Ankylosaurus Anodontosaurus Euoplocephalus Dyoplosaurus Nodocephalosaurus Talarurus Scolosaurus Ziapelta Nodosauridae Animantarx Antarctopelta Edmontonia Glyptodontopelta Mymoorapelta Niobrarasaurus Nodosaurus Panoplosaurus Pawpawsaurus Peloroplites Propanoplosaurus Sauropelta Silvisaurus Stegopelta Tatankacephalus Texasetes Zhejiangosaurus Polacanthinae Gargoyleosaurus Gastonia Hoplitosaurus Hylaeosaurus Polacanthus Struthiosaurinae Anoplosaurus Europelta Hungarosaurus Struthiosaurus   Related categories Ornithischians Stegosaurs Ankylosaurs