Jinchuanloong
From 'Jinchuan' (the district of Jinchang City, Gansu Province, where the holotype was found) and Mandarin Chinese 'loong' (dragon).
Jinchuanloong is an extinct genus of non-neosauropod eusauropod sauropod from the late Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) lower Xinhe Formation of Jinchuan District, Jinchang City, Gansu Province, north-western China. The single species, Jinchuanloong niedu, is known from a single subadult individual (estimated body length ~10 m) preserving a nearly complete skull with mandible articulated with the atlas-axis complex and the first five cervicals, plus 29 articulated middle and posterior caudal vertebrae. The phylogenetic analysis of Li and colleagues (2025) recovers Jinchuanloong outside Mamenchisauridae as the sister taxon to a Turiasauria + Neosauropoda clade.
Diagnosis
- Small, dorsoventrally elongated foramen present at the base of the nasal process (ascending process) of the maxilla in lateral view.
- Anterodorsal surface of the prefrontal bears a small round aperture near the bifurcation of its anterior and lateral processes.
- Postorbital very robust in lateral view; ratio of anteroposterior length to dorsoventral height of the posterior process of the postorbital is 0.9.
- Posteroventral process of the jugal contributes only 22% of the ventral margin of the infratemporal fenestra; dorsal process of the jugal contacts the lacrimal and makes a small contribution to the antorbital fenestra.
Species
Jinchuanloong niedu Li et al., 2025
Type species
From Mandarin Chinese 'nie' (nickel) and 'du' (city), referring to Jinchang's status as China's largest nickel-mining center.
- Holotype
- JCMF 0132 , Jinchang Museum of Fossils
- Material
- Nearly complete skull with mandible, five anteriormost cervical vertebrae (atlas–axis complex plus cervicals 3–5), 29 articulated middle and posterior caudal vertebrae, some fragmented caudal ribs and haemal arches.
- Horizon
- lower Xinhe Formation, Bathonian, Middle Jurassic , 168.2–165.3 million years ago
- Locality
- Gansu, China
References
-
Li, N.; Zhang, X.; Ren, X.; Li, D.; You, H. (2025). A new eusauropod (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) from the Middle Jurassic of Gansu, China. Scientific Reports 15(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41598-025-03210-5
Erects Jinchuanloong as a non-neosauropod eusauropod outside Mamenchisauridae, sister to Turiasauria + Neosauropoda; subadult holotype preserves an articulated nearly complete skull.
li2025a