Open Paleo

Lanzhousaurus

You et al., 2005 lan-JOH-SAWR-us

Named for Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu Province, China, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard', hence 'Lanzhou lizard'.

125.8–113.2 million years ago Barremian–Aptian, Early Cretaceous
Early Cretaceous stages

Lanzhousaurus is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in the Gansu region of what is now China during the Early Cretaceous (Barremian). Described by You, Ji, and Li in 2005, the type and only species is Lanzhousaurus magnidens, known from a partial skeleton recovered from the Hekou Group. It has been estimated to be about 10 meters (33 ft) in length and 6 metric tons (6.6 short tons) in weight.

Diagnosis

  1. Large individual teeth (~4 cm wide) with small tooth count per tooth row (14 in dentary)
  2. Dentary teeth diamond-shaped with multiple weak ridges on lingual surface
  3. Maxillary teeth narrow, lozenge-shaped with one prominent primary ridge flanked by weak secondary ridges
  4. Marginal denticles present as mammillations on both mesial and distal edges of teeth
  5. Enamel present on both lingual and labial sides of teeth (weak interlocking)
  6. Hatchet-shaped sternal plates with relatively long blade (>50% of total length)

Species

Lanzhousaurus magnidens You et al., 2005

Type species

From Latin 'magnus' meaning 'great' and 'dens' meaning 'tooth', referring to the exceptionally large teeth that distinguish this genus.

Holotype
GSLTZP01-001 , The Fossil Research and Development Center of the Third Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration Academy of Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geo-exploration and Mineral Development
Material
Partial skeleton including mandible (missing predentary, right coronoid, right articular), isolated maxillary and dentary teeth, 14 vertebrae (6 cervicals, 8 dorsals), sternal plates, ribs, pubes
Horizon
Hekou Group, Barremian–Aptian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–113.2 million years ago
Locality
Zhongpu, Lintao, Gansu, China

References

  1. You, H.; Ji, Q.; Li, D. (2005). Lanzhousaurus magnidens gen. et sp. nov. from Gansu Province, China: the largest-toothed herbivorous dinosaur in the world. Geological Bulletin of China 24(9): 785-794. you2005a