Lufengosaurus
Named for Lufeng, a county in Yunnan Province, China where it was found, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard', hence 'Lufeng lizard'. The species name honors German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene.
Lufengosaurus is a genus of massospondylid dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now southwestern China.
Diagnosis
- Distinct tuberosity on the lateral surface of the ascending process of the maxilla (absent in other prosauropods).
- Low boss on the central portion of the jugal, at the junction of its three rami (maxillary, postorbital, and quadratojugal processes).
- Prominent boss on the dorsal surface of the rostrolateral process of the parietal.
- Ridge along the caudal part of the lateral surface of the maxilla, forming the dorsal boundary of a shallow buccal emargination.
Species
Lufengosaurus huenei Young, 1940
Type species
Named for German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene, the tutor of C. C. Young who named the species, honored in the genitive Latin '-i' suffix.
- Holotype
- IVPP V15 , Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
- Material
- Almost complete skeleton, including a largely complete but dorsoventrally crushed skull (premaxillae missing, snout reconstructed).
- Horizon
- Shawan Member, Lufeng Formation, Hettangian–Sinemurian, Early Jurassic , 201.4–192.9 million years ago
- Locality
- Shawan, Yunnan, China
Synonyms
-
Gyposaurus sinensis junior subjective
Recent work indicates G. sinensis is referable to Lufengosaurus huenei.
Synonyms of the genus
| Name | Type | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Lufengocephalus | possible subjective | Olshevsky (1991) treats Lufengocephalus as a senior synonym of Tawasaurus and so a junior synonym of Lufengosaurus, resting that on a personal communication; Tawasaurus is itself regarded as undiagnostic. |
| Tawasaurus | junior subjective | Now interpreted as juvenile material of Lufengosaurus. |
References
-
Olshevsky, G. (1991). A revision of the parainfraclass Archosauria Cope, 1869, excluding the advanced Crocodylia. Mesozoic Meanderings 2: 1-196.
Source of the Lufengocephalus synonymy, by way of Tawasaurus.
olshevsky1991a - Young, C. C. (1940). Preliminary notes on the Lufeng vertebrate fossils. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 20(3-4): 235-239. doi:10.1111/j.1755-6724.1940.mp203-4003.x young1940a
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Barrett, P. M.; Upchurch, P.; Wang, X. L. (2005). Cranial osteology of Lufengosaurus huenei Young (Dinosauria: Prosauropoda) from the Lower Jurassic of Yunnan, People's Republic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 25(4): 806-822. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2005)025[0806:COOLHY]2.0.CO;2
Detailed cranial redescription of the holotype IVPP V15; confirms Lufengosaurus as valid and provides an emended (cranial) diagnosis.
barrett2005b -
Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.
Source of the hip height estimate.
jones2026b -
Fang, X.; Long, Q.; Lu, L.; Zhang, Z.; Pan, S.; Wang, Y.; Li, X.; Cheng, Z. (2000). [Lower, Middle, and Upper Jurassic divisions of the Lufeng region of Yunnan province]. Proceedings of the Third National Stratigraphical Congress of China 208-214. Geological Publishing House, Beijing.
Defines the Shawan Member, with its type section at Shawan village, as the lower of the two members of the Lufeng Formation.
fang2000a