Open Paleo

Gongxianosaurus

He et al., 1998 GOONG-shyen-o-SAWR-us

Named for Gongxian County in Sichuan Province, China, where the fossils were found, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'.

184.2–174.7 million years ago Toarcian, Early Jurassic
Early Jurassic stages

Gongxianosaurus is a genus of basal sauropod dinosaur from the early Jurassic Period (Sinemurian-Pliensbachian stage). The only species is Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis. Based on four fragmentary to complete specimens found in the Ziliujing Formation, China (Sichuan Province), it is one of the most completely known early sauropods. The skeleton is known in large part, missing both the hand and the majority of the skull. Gongxianosaurus was firstly named and described in a short note published in 1998; however, a comprehensive description has yet to be published. Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis was named for the place it was found, near the village Shibei in Gong County (珙县; Pinyin: Gǒng Xiàn).

Under dispute

Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis sits close to the sauropodiform-sauropod boundary. He and colleagues (1998), describing the genus, placed it within Sauropoda as an early and primitive sauropod retaining numerous prosauropod-like features, though without a cladistic analysis, and McPhee and colleagues (2014) likewise recovered it in an unresolved basal-Sauropoda polytomy. Rauhut and colleagues (2020) instead recovered it among sauropodiforms outside Sauropoda, and Pol and colleagues (2022) place it outside Eusauropoda on strong support.

Diagnosis

  1. Premaxilla has well-developed posterior process on posterodorsal region in addition to the anterodorsal process
  2. Cervical ribs extremely short, only two-thirds the centrum length
  3. Dorsal vertebrae bear two nearly parallel transversely extended ventral laminae or spines resembling ventral diapophyseal plates
  4. Anterior caudal neural spines broad and plate-shaped with extremely well-developed diapophyses that are broad anteroposteriorly and thin dorsoventrally; no caudal haemal arch is bifurcated
  5. Forelimb length 70-75% the length of the hindlimb
  6. Pes phalanges thick and short, lacking proximolateral ligament depressions; unguals lack dorsolateral longitudinal grooves

Species

Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis He et al., 1998

Type species

Named for the village of Shibei in Gong County, Sichuan Province, China, near where the fossils were found.

Holotype
Not catalogued (destroyed)
Material
Type and paratype adult individuals; elements include premaxillae, mandibles, teeth, cervical, dorsal, sacral and caudal vertebrae, pectoral and pelvic girdles, fore- and hindlimbs, sterna, ribs, and gastralia
Horizon
Dongyuemiao Member, Ziliujing Formation, Toarcian, Early Jurassic , 184.2–174.7 million years ago
Locality
Hongshacun, Sichuan, China He and colleagues (1998) put the holotype's level in the middle to upper Dongyuemiao Member, straddling two positions, and place Hongshacun within Shibei Township.

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Yibinosaurus junior subjective Treated as a synonym of Gongxianosaurus pending a formal description.

References

  1. He, X.; Wang, C.; Liu, S.; Zhou, F.; Liu, T.; Cai, K.; Dai, B. (1998). [A new species of sauropod from the Early Jurassic of Gongxian Co., Sichuan]. A new species of sauropod from the Early Jurassic of Gongxian Co., Sichuan 18(1): 1-6.

    Erected Gongxianosaurus and placed it within Sauropoda as an early and primitive sauropod, arguing the case narratively rather than cladistically.

    he1998a
  2. McPhee, B. W.; Yates, A. M.; Choiniere, J. N.; Abdala, F. (2014). The complete anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Antetonitrus ingenipes (Sauropodiformes, Dinosauria): implications for the origins of Sauropoda. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171(1): 151-205. doi:10.1111/zoj.12127

    Recovered Gongxianosaurus in an unresolved basal-Sauropoda polytomy.

    mcphee2014a
  3. Rauhut, O. W. M.; Holwerda, F. M.; Furrer, H. (2020). A derived sauropodiform dinosaur and other sauropodomorph material from the Late Triassic of Canton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. Swiss Journal of Geosciences 113(1). Pensoft Publishers. doi:10.1186/s00015-020-00360-8

    Recovered Gongxianosaurus among sauropodiforms outside Sauropoda.

    rauhut2020a
  4. Pol, D.; Gomez, K.; Holwerda, F. M.; Rauhut, O. W. M.; Carballido, J. L. (2022). Sauropods from the Early Jurassic of South America and the Radiation of Eusauropoda. South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs: Record, Diversity and Evolution 131-163. Springer International Publishing. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95959-3_4

    Recovered Gongxianosaurus outside Eusauropoda on strong support.

    pol2022a
  5. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass estimate.

    paul2024a
  6. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Treats Gongxianosaurus as possibly among the basalmost sauropods.

    jones2026b