Open Paleo

Yingshanosaurus

Zhu, 1994 ying-shan-oh-sore-us

Named after Yingshan (a locality in Sichuan Province, China), combined with Greek sauros meaning 'lizard'; translates as 'Yingshan lizard'

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

Yingshanosaurus is an extinct genus of stegosaurian dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic of what is now Southwestern China. It is known from a partial skeleton discovered in 1983, including back, sacrum, and tail vertebrae, forelimb and hindlimb bones, shoulder and hip bones, and several osteoderms, including plates and a shoulder spine. The genus contains a single species, Yingshanosaurus jichuanensis, named and described in 1994. For some time after its discovery and scientific description, many paleontologists were unaware of the Chinese research published on it and questioned its validity.

Diagnosis

  1. Dorsal neural spines with enlarged, truncated apices and ~60° angle to transverse processes
  2. Sacral region nearly completely closed with five fused vertebrae including one strengthened lumbar
  3. Anterior caudal neural spines not bifurcating at apex, expanded at top
  4. Femur to tibia ratio 1:0.69, relatively large forelimb proportions
  5. Plate-like osteoderms arranged symmetrically left and right
  6. Reinforced pelvic girdle with deep acetabulum and prominent pubic tubercle

Species

Yingshanosaurus jichuanensis Zhu, 1994

Type species

Named for Jichuan Township, the type locality in Sichuan Province, China, where the holotype skeleton was discovered.

Holotype
CV00722 , Chongqing Museum of Natural History
Material
Incomplete skeleton: nine dorsal vertebrae, seven caudal vertebrae, left pectoral girdle, pelvic girdle, left fore and hind limbs, and five ossified dermal plates.
Horizon
upper Shaximiao Formation, Bajocian–Oxfordian, Middle Jurassic–Late Jurassic , 170.9–154.8 million years ago
Locality
Jichuan, Sichuan, China

References

  1. Zhou, S. (1986). De l'origine et de l'évolution systématique des Stegosauria à la lumière des fossiles connus [On the origin and systematic evolution of the Stegosauria in light of the known fossils]. Les Dinosaures de La Chine à La France, Colloque International de Paléontologie, Toulouse, France, 2-6 Septembre 1985 31-38. Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle de Toulouse, Toulouse. zhou1986a
  2. Zhu, S. (1994). 记四川盆地营山县一剑龙化石 [Record of a fossil stegosaur from Yingshan in the Sichuan Basin]. Sichuan Cultural Relics (1): 8-14. zhu1994a