Open Paleo

Mandschurosaurus

Riabinin, 1930 man-CHOOR-o-SAWR-us Nomen dubium

Named for Manchuria (Mandschuria in German), the region of China where its fossils were found, combined with Greek 'sauros' meaning 'lizard'.

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

Mandschurosaurus is an extinct genus of hadrosaurids based on material from the Late Cretaceous of China and possibly also the Early Cretaceous of Laos. It was the first dinosaur genus named from China.

Species

Mandschurosaurus amurensis (Riabinin, 1925) Nomen dubium

Type species

First named as Trachodon amurense

Named for the Amur River in China, on whose banks the holotype skeleton was collected.

Holotype
CCMGE 1644 , F.N. Chernyshev Central Museum of Geological Exploration
Material
A composite mounted skeleton assembled from disarticulated remains of more than one individual (~35% plaster): a partial skull (occipital region, both dentaries) and fragmentary postcranial elements.
Notes
Cataloged by Riabinin as no. 1644 of the Museum of the Geological Committee; the mounted skeleton is now held by the F. N. Chernyshev museum in St Petersburg.
Horizon
Yuliangzi Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Belye Kruchi, Heilongjiang, China

Synonyms

  • Trachodon amurense reassigned

    Originally described as Trachodon amurense by Riabinin (1925); Riabinin (1930) erected Mandschurosaurus for the material.

References

  1. Riabinin, A. N. (1925). A mounted skeleton of the gigantic reptile Trachodon amurense, nov. sp. Izvestiya Geologicheskogo Komiteta 44(1): 1-12.

    Original description of the species as Trachodon amurense; the mounted skeleton was later made the type of Mandschurosaurus by Riabinin (1930).

    riabinin1925a
  2. Riabinin, A. N. (1930). Mandschurosaurus amurensis nov. gen. nov. sp., verkhnemelovoy dinozavr s. r. Amura [Mandschurosaurus amurensis nov. gen, nov. sp., a hadrosaurian dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of the Amur River]. Monografii Russkogo Paleontologicheskogo Obshchestva 2: 1-36. riabinin1930a
  3. Godefroit, P.; Lauters, P.; Van Itterbeeck, J.; Bolotsky, Yu. L.; Dong, Z.; Jin, L.; Wu, W.; Bolotsky, I. Y.; Hai, S.; Yu, T. (2011). Recent advances on study of hadrosaurid dinosaurs in Heilongjiang (Amur) River area between China and Russia. Global Geology 14(3): 160-191. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1673-9736.2011.03.03

    Spells the formation Yuliangze and places the Jiayin cliffs, the Longgushan section, within it.

    godefroit2011a
  4. Godefroit, P.; Zan, S.; Jin, L. (2000). Charonosaurus jiayinensis n.g., n.sp.,a lambeosaurine dinosaur from the Late Maastrichtian of northeastern China. Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences - Series IIA - Earth and Planetary Science 330(12): 875-882. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/s1251-8050(00)00214-7

    States that Mandschurosaurus amurensis is now unanimously considered a nomen dubium.

    godefroit2000a
  5. Xing, H.; Gu, W.; Hai, S.; Yu, T.; Han, D.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, S. (2022). Osteological and taxonomic reassessments of Sahaliyania elunchunorum (Dinosauria, Hadrosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous Yuliangzi Formation, northeast China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 41(6): e2085111. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2021.2085111

    Treats Mandschurosaurus as a nomen dubium for lack of diagnostic characters and the problematic ascription of its material.

    xing2022a
  6. Brett-Surman, M. K. (1989). A revision of the Hadrosauridae (Reptilia: Ornithischia) and their evolution during the Campanian and Maastrichtian. 1-272. Doctoral thesis, The George Washington University.

    Calls Mandschurosaurus a nomen dubium, its type mostly restored in plaster.

    brett-surman1989a