Yuanyanglong
From Chinese yuanyang meaning 'mandarin duck' (or 'lovebird') and long meaning 'dragon'; translates as 'lovebird dragon,' likely referring to the two individuals found together
Yuanyanglong is an extinct genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Miaogou Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Yuanyanglong bainian, known from two partial skeletons.
Diagnosis
- Preacetabular process of the ilium approximately 40% longer than the postacetabular process
- Hook-like anteroventral process of the ilium extending only to the level of the dorsal acetabular margin
- Reduced anterior process of the pubic boot, shorter than the hooked posterior process
- Exceptionally slender tibiotarsus, with a distal-end mediolateral width to whole-bone length ratio of about 0.08
Species
Yuanyanglong bainian Hao et al., 2024
Type species
From the Chinese 'bainian' (百年) meaning 'a hundred years', commemorating the centenary of the first named oviraptorosaur taxa, Chirostenotes and Oviraptor, described in 1924.
- Holotype
- PV02476-1 , Inner Mongolia Museum, Hohhot
- Material
- Articulated partial skeleton: nearly complete, well-articulated pelvic girdle, partial hindlimb (most of the pes absent), partial pectoral girdle, forelimb (manus absent), and several vertebrae and ribs.
- Horizon
- Miaogou Formation, Aptian–Albian, Early Cretaceous , 121.4–100.5 million years ago
- Locality
- Maortu, Inner Mongolia, China
Notable specimens
-
PV02476-2
Inner Mongolia Museum, Hohhot Found 2021 complementary
Referred specimen found in association with the holotype on the same block. It preserves an incomplete skull, partial hindlimb, incomplete pelvis, dorsal vertebrae, and partial sacrum, adding cranial anatomy absent from the holotype, which lacks a skull.
References
- Hao, M.; Li, Z.; Wang, Z.; Wang, S.; Ma, F.; Qinggele; Logan King, J.; Pei, R.; Zhao, Q.; Xu, X. (2024). A new oviraptorosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Miaogou Formation of western Inner Mongolia, China. Cretaceous Research 167(78): 106023. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106023 hao2024a