Sinankylosaurus (meaning "Chinese fused lizard") is a genus of dinosaur, originally described as an ankylosaur, from the Late Cretaceous Hongtuya Formation of Shandong, China. The genus contains a single species, Sinankylosaurus zhuchengensis, known from a nearly complete right ilium. The describers claim that the discovery of Sinankylosaurus further demonstrates the similarity between dinosaurs of eastern Asia and western North America.[1]

Sinankylosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
~77.3–73.5 Ma
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Genus: Sinankylosaurus
Wang et al., 2020
Species:
S. zhuchengensis
Binomial name
Sinankylosaurus zhuchengensis
Wang et al., 2020

Discovery and naming

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Beginning in 1964, paleontologists conducted large-scale excavations in Zhucheng and discovered an abundant source of fossils; notably dinosaur fossils.[2]

ZJZ-183, the holotype specimen, was discovered with the Zhuchengtyrannus holotype in the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group (specifically the Hongtuya Formation[1]) in Zhucheng, Shandong Province, China around 2010.[3] The fossil was prepared during the following years and was later described in 2020.[1]

Description

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Because it is only known from an ilium, the external appearance of Sinankylosaurus remains unknown. Its describers noted similarities with other ankylosaur ilia, but a 2021 study did not consider it an ankylosaur and called it a nomen dubium.[4]

Paleoecology

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Sinankylosaurus is known from the Hongtuya Formation, part of the Wangshi Group of southern China. Other animals from this group include Sinoceratops, a ceratopsian,[5] Shantungosaurus, a very common hadrosaurid to which most of the material has been assigned,[6] Zhuchengtyrannus, an Asian tyrannosaurid related to Tarbosaurus,[7] Zhuchengceratops, an Asian leptoceratopsid,[8] and material tentatively assigned to Tyrannosaurus.

References

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  1. ^ a b c Wang, K. B.; Zhang, Y. X.; Chen, J.; Chen, S. Q.; Wang, P. Y. (2020). "A new ankylosaurian from the Late Cretaceous strata of Zhucheng, Shandong Province". Geological Bulletin of China (in Chinese). 39 (7): 958–962.
  2. ^ Wangshi Group in the Paleobiology Database
  3. ^ "Shandong discovers new dinosaur with spikes!". yqqlm. 20 August 2020. Retrieved 21 August 2020.[dead link]
  4. ^ Wenjie Zheng; Masateru Shibata; Chun-Chi Lao; Soki Hattori; Dongchun Jin; Changzhu Jin; Xing Xu (2021). "First definitive ankylosaurian dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Jilin Province, northeastern China". Cretaceous Research. 127 (104953): 104953. Bibcode:2021CrRes.12704953Z. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104953.
  5. ^ Xu, X., Wang, K., Zhao, X. & Li, D. (2010). "First ceratopsid dinosaur from China and its biogeographical implications". Chinese Science Bulletin. 55 (16): 1631–1635. Bibcode:2010ChSBu..55.1631X. doi:10.1007/s11434-009-3614-5. S2CID 128972108.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Hu, C.C. (1973). "[A new hadrosaur from the Cretaceous of Chucheng, Shantung]". Acta Geologica Sinica. 2: 179–206.
  7. ^ Hone, D. W. E.; Wang, K.; Sullivan, C.; Zhao, X.; Chen, S.; Li, D.; Ji, S.; Ji, Q.; Xu, X. (2011). "A new, large tyrannosaurine theropod from the Upper Cretaceous of China". Cretaceous Research. 32 (4): 495–503. Bibcode:2011CrRes..32..495H. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.03.005.
  8. ^ Xing Xu; Kebai Wang; Xijin Zhao; Corwin Sullivan; Shuqing Chen (2010). "A New Leptoceratopsid (Ornithischia: Ceratopsia) from the Upper Cretaceous of Shandong, China and Its Implications for Neoceratopsian Evolution". PLOS ONE. 5 (11): e13835. Bibcode:2010PLoSO...513835X. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0013835. PMC 2973951. PMID 21079798.