Open Paleo

Kaijiangosaurus

He, 1984 KIE-JYAHNG-o-SAWR-us Disputed

Named for Kaijiang County in Sichuan, China; meaning "Kaijiang lizard"

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

Kaijiangosaurus is a genus of carnivorous tetanuran theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of China. In 1984 He Xinlu named and described the type species Kaijiangosaurus lini. The generic name refers to the River (jiang) Kai. The specific name honors the paleontologist Lin Wenqiu.

Under dispute

The validity of Kaijiangosaurus lini is unresolved. It was described only in a 1984 book, on a holotype of seven cervical vertebrae (CCG 20020), and none of the works cited for it is a peer-reviewed redescription. Rauhut (2003) regarded it as a nomen dubium, whereas Carrano, Benson and Sampson (2012) treated it as a fragmentary taxon requiring restudy — noting that the referred material may not all belong to one taxon — and suggested a basal tetanuran or averostran placement without declaring it dubious. Paul (2024) suggested it may be a junior synonym of the contemporaneous Gasosaurus constructus. It is placed conservatively at Tetanurae incertae sedis.

Species

Kaijiangosaurus lini He, 1984 Disputed

Type species

Named for the paleontologist Lin Wenqiu.

Holotype
CCG 20020 , Chengdu University of Technology
Material
Seven cervical vertebrae.
Horizon
lower Shaximiao Formation, Bajocian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic , 170.9–154.8 million years ago
Locality
Sichuan, China

References

  1. He, X. (1984). The Vertebrate Fossils of Sichuan. 1-168. Sichuan Scientific and Technological Publishing House, Chengdu.

    Original description of Kaijiangosaurus lini in a 1984 book on the vertebrate fossils of Sichuan.

    he1984a
  2. Rauhut, O. W. M. (2003). The interrelationships and evolution of basal theropod dinosaurs. Special Papers in Palaeontology 69: 1-213. The Palaeontological Association.

    Regarded Kaijiangosaurus lini as a nomen dubium.

    rauhut2003b
  3. Carrano, M. T.; Benson, R. B. J.; Sampson, S. D. (2012). The phylogeny of Tetanurae (Dinosauria: Theropoda). Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 10(2): 211-300. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.630927

    Treated Kaijiangosaurus as a fragmentary taxon requiring restudy, suggesting a basal tetanuran or averostran placement and noting the referred material may not represent a single taxon.

    carrano2012a
  4. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Predatory Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press.

    Suggested Kaijiangosaurus may be a junior synonym of Gasosaurus constructus.

    paul2024b