Open Paleo

Gigantspinosaurus

Ouyang, 1992 JIH-gant-SPY-no-SOR-us

From Latin gigas/giganteus, 'enormous', + Latin spina, 'spine', + Greek sauros, 'lizard'; means 'giant-spined lizard', referring to its massive shoulder spines

170.9–154.8 million years ago Bajocian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic
Middle Jurassic and Late Jurassic stages

Gigantspinosaurus is a genus of stegosaurian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) Upper Shaximiao Formation of China. The type species is Gigantspinosaurus sichuanensis. It was a moderately sized member of the group, measuring up to 4.2 meters (14 ft) in length.

Diagnosis

  1. Parascapular (shoulder) spines at least twice the length of the scapula
  2. Dentary bearing up to 30 closely packed, leaf-shaped teeth, each crown with five tuberculate serrations on the anterior and posterior margins
  3. External mandibular fenestra present, with a well-developed coronoid process and an elongated ridge along the lateral surface of the dentary
  4. Four firmly fused sacral vertebrae, the sacral neural spines co-ossified with the last dorsal neural spine into a fore-and-aft elongate plate

Species

Gigantspinosaurus sichuanensis Ouyang, 1992

Type species

Named for Sichuan Province, China, where the holotype was found.

Holotype
ZDM 0019 , Zigong Dinosaur Museum
Material
Paired mandibles, eight cervical, 16 dorsal, and four sacral vertebrae, partial anterior caudals, partial girdles, dermal plates, and a pair of shoulder spines (one with a skin impression).
Horizon
upper Shaximiao Formation, Bajocian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic , 170.9–154.8 million years ago
Locality
Pengtang, Sichuan, China Peng and colleagues (2005) place the holotype at Pengtang in Zhongquan Township, where Maidment and colleagues (2006), paraphrasing Ouyang, give the containing division as Jinquan.

References

  1. Ouyang, H. (1992). Discovery of Gigantspinosaurus sichanensis and its scapular spine orientation. Abstracts and Summaries for Youth Academic Symposium on New Discoveries and Ideas in Stratigraphic Paleontology 47-49.

    In Chinese.

    ouyang1992a
  2. Peng, G.; Ye, Y.; Gao, Y.; Shu, C.; Jiang, S. (2005). Zìgòng dìqū zhū luó jì kǒnglóng dòngwù qún [Jurassic Dinosaur Faunas in Zigong]. 1-236. People's Publishing House, Sichuan Publishing Group.

    Updated redescription of the holotype specimen.

    peng2005a
  3. Maidment, S. C. R.; Wei, G. (2006). A review of the Late Jurassic stegosaurs (Dinosauria, Stegosauria) from the People's Republic of China. Geological Magazine 143(5): 621-634. Cambridge University Press (CUP). doi:10.1017/s0016756806002500 maidment2006a
  4. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Ornithischians. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate, and the appearance features.

    jones2026a