Open Paleo

Heyuannia

Lü, 2002 Hey-YOU-ARN-ee-ah

From Heyuan; named after Heyuan city in Guangdong Province, China, where the type specimen was found

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Heyuannia is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, in what is now China and Mongolia. It was the first oviraptorid found in China; most others were found in neighboring Mongolia. Two species are known: H. huangi, named by Lü Junchang in 2002 from the Dalangshan Formation; and H. yanshini, originally named as a separate genus Ingenia from the Baruungoyot Formation by Rinchen Barsbold in 1981, and later renamed to Ajancingenia in 2013 due to the preoccupation of Ingenia. The latter name was eventually discarded due to various ethical issues surrounding the author.

Diagnosis

  1. 13 Cervical vertebrae (increased count, distinct from all other oviraptorosaurs)
  2. 12 Dorsal vertebrae (decreased count relative to non-avian theropods)
  3. 8 Sacral vertebrae (increased count, bird-like)
  4. Quadratojugal articular surface of quadrate is groove-like rather than a lateral cotyle
  5. Quadrate diverticulum enters quadrate anterolaterally
  6. Pneumatic foramina present on neural arches and ribs of cervical vertebrae
  7. Pubis as long as ilium
  8. Proximal end of metacarpal I wraps that of metacarpal II in ventral view

Species (2)

Heyuannia huangi Lü, 2002

Type species

Named for Huang Dong, the director of the Heyuan Museum.

Holotype
HYMV1-1 , Heyuan Dinosaur Museum
Material
Nearly complete skeleton missing distal end of tail and forelimbs, with an incomplete skull.
Horizon
Dalangshan Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Huangsha village, Heyuan, Guangdong, China

Heyuannia yanshini (Barsbold, 1981)

First named as Ingenia yanshini

Named in honor of academician Aleksandr Leonidovich Yanshin.

Holotype
MPC-D 100/30 , Paleontological Center, Mongolian Academy of Sciences
Horizon
upper Baruungoyot Formation, Campanian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–72.2 million years ago
Locality
Hermiin Tsav, Ömnögovi, Mongolia

Synonyms

  • Ajancingenia yanshini reassigned

    Reclassified by Funston and colleagues (2018) as Heyuannia yanshini to avoid ethical concerns over Easter's redescription of Ajancingenia (which included plagiarized text).

  • Ingenia yanshini reassigned

    Originally described as Ingenia yanshini (1981); the genus name was preoccupied, and the species was ultimately reassigned to Heyuannia.

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Ajancingenia boycotted Replacement name for Ingenia, rejected by most authors due to ethical concerns over the description (including alleged plagiarism).
Ingenia preoccupied Name preoccupied by Ingenia (Nematoda).

References

  1. Lü, J. (2002). A new oviraptorosaurid (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of southern China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22(4): 871-875. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0871:anotof]2.0.co;2 lü2002a
  2. Barsbold, R. (1981). Bezzubyye khishchnyye dinozavry Mongolii [Toothless carnivorous dinosaurs of Mongolia]. Sovmestnaia Sovetsko-Mongol'skaia Paleontologicheskaia Ekspeditsiia Trudy 15: 28-39. barsbold1981a
  3. Easter, J. (2013). A new name for the oviraptorid dinosaur "Ingenia" yanshini (Barsbold, 1981; preoccupied by Gerlach, 1957). Zootaxa 3737(2): 184-190. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3737.2.6

    Coins the replacement genus Ajancingenia for the preoccupied Ingenia; later rejected by most authors.

    easter2013a
  4. Funston, G. F.; Mendonca, S. E.; Currie, P. J.; Barsbold, R. (2018). Oviraptorosaur anatomy, diversity and ecology in the Nemegt Basin. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 494: 101-120. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2017.10.023

    Reassigns the species to Heyuannia yanshini, establishing the current combination.

    funston2018a