A new sauropodiform dinosaur with a 'sauropodan' skull from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China.

ABSTRACT: The Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province in southwestern China is one of the best fossil localities in the world for understanding the early radiation of sauropodomorph dinosaurs. It has yielded a rich assemblage of complete and three-dimensionally preserved skeletons of herbivorous dinosaurs that provide crucial morphological information for systematic and evolutionary studies. Here we describe a new taxon, Yizhousaurus sunae gen. et sp. nov., represented by a nearly complete skeleton with an exquisitely preserved skull and mandible. Yizhousaurus is distinguished from other non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs by a unique combination of plesiomorphic and apomorphic features, which increases our understanding of the anatomical variation on the relatively conservative 'prosauropod'

SUBMITTER: Zhang QN 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6128897 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature