Open Paleo

Shixinggia

Lü & Zhang, 2005

Named for Shixing County, Guangdong, China, where the fossil was discovered.

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

Shixinggia is a genus of oviraptorosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous period of Shixing County, Guangdong, China, for which it was named. While no skull was recovered, the specimen (BVP-112) is known from a fair amount of post-cranial material that shows it was a fairly derived oviraptorosaur of superfamily Caenagnathoidea.

Under dispute

Shixinggia is known only from postcranial material, and whether it is an oviraptorid or a caenagnathid is unresolved. Its describers (Lü and Zhang, 2005) and a later analysis (Funston and colleagues, 2020) place it within Oviraptoridae, the latter as the basalmost member of Heyuanninae, but the incompleteness of the specimen leaves open the possibility that it is instead a caenagnathid.

Diagnosis

  1. Preacetabular process of ilium shorter than postacetabular process, both ends obtuse in shape
  2. Ventral margins of preacetabular and postacetabular processes higher than dorsal margin of acetabulum
  3. Ratio of ilium height to length is 0.32
  4. Large opening on anteromedial surface near proximal end of femur
  5. Relatively small opening on proximal end of tibia

Species

Shixinggia oblita Lü & Zhang, 2005

Type species

From Latin 'oblita' meaning 'forgotten' or 'overlooked', likely a reference to the long period the specimen went unnoticed or understudied.

Holotype
BPV-112 , Beijing Museum of Natural History
Material
Nearly complete sacrum with three posterior dorsal and three anterior caudal vertebrae, two incomplete ribs, both ilia, parts of femur, tibia, fibula, and fourth toe.
Horizon
Pingling Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Luyuan, Guangdong, China

References

  1. Lü, J. C.; Zhang, B. K. (2005). A new oviraptorid (theropod: Oviraptorosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Nanxiong Basin, Guangdong province of southern China. Acta Palaeontologica Sinica 44(3): 412-422. lü2005a
  2. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length and mass estimates.

    paul2024a
  3. Funston, G. F.; Chinzorig, T.; Tsogtbaatar, K.; Kobayashi, Y.; Sullivan, C.; Currie, P. J. (2020). A new two-fingered dinosaur sheds light on the radiation of Oviraptorosauria. Royal Society Open Science 7(10): 201184. The Royal Society. doi:10.1098/rsos.201184

    Recovered Shixinggia within Oviraptoridae as the basalmost member of Heyuanninae.

    funston2020a