Haolong
From Chinese hao (spiny) and long (dragon); meaning 'spiny dragon', referring to its integumentary structures
Early Cretaceous stages
Haolong is an extinct genus of hadrosauroid ornithopod dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian age) Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. The genus contains a single species, Haolong dongi, known from a nearly complete, articulated skeleton with preserved integumentary structures.
Diagnosis
- Internarial septum of premaxilla almost as long as external naris (autapomorphy)
- Presence of an additional antorbital foramen between the maxilla and the lacrimal (autapomorphy)
- Subtriangular postorbital in lateral view, with proportionally short jugal and squamosal processes (autapomorphy)
- Short and triangular pubic peduncle of ilium (autapomorphy)
- Caudolateral process of premaxilla does not extend up to the lacrimal
- Acromial process of scapula prominent and extending dorsally, forming an approximately 90-degree angle with the scapular blade
Species
Haolong dongi Huang et al., 2026
Type species
Named for Dong Zhiming, a prominent Chinese paleontologist renowned for extensive work describing dinosaurs from China.
- Holotype
- AGM 16793 , Geological and Paleontological Museum of Anhui
- Material
- Near-complete and articulated skeleton of a juvenile individual, preserved in articulation and exposed in left lateral view.
- Horizon
- Jianshangou Member, Yixian Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
- Locality
- Lamagou, Liaoning, China
References
- Huang, J.; Wu, W.; Mao, L.; Bertozzo, F.; Dhouailly, D.; Robin, N.; Pittman, M.; Kaye, T. G.; Manucci, F.; He, X.; Wang, X.; Godefroit, P. (2026). Cellular-level preservation of cutaneous spikes in an Early Cretaceous iguanodontian dinosaur. Nature Ecology & Evolution 10(2): 203-210. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41559-025-02960-9 huang2026a