Ferganasaurus (meaning "Fergana Valley lizard") was a genus of dinosaur first formally described in 2003 by Alifanov and Averianov. The type species is Ferganasaurus verzilini. It was a sauropod similar to Rhoetosaurus. Ferganasaurus is known exclusively from the Balabansai Formation of Kyrgyzstan, which dates to the Callovian stage of the Middle Jurassic.[1]
| Ferganasaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic,
| |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Genus: | †Ferganasaurus Alifanov & Averianov, 2003 |
| Species: | †F. verzilini
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Ferganasaurus verzilini Alifanov & Averianov, 2003
| |
Discovery and naming
editThe holotype, PIN N 3042/1 (two dorsal and sixteen caudal vertebrae, a pelvis and limb bones), was discovered in 1966 by Kurzanov and Rhozdestvensky in Middle Jurassic (Callovian)-aged rocks from the Balabansai Formation, Kyrgyzstan, but it was subsequently lost with only drawings of the holotype remaining. A 2000 expedition into the Balabansai Formation yielded a second specimen of Ferganasaurus, but despite this new material, and the drawings of the originals, no cranial material has ever been attributed to Ferganasaurus. In 2003, the species Ferganasaurus verzilini was described by Alifanov & Averianov.[1]
Description
editFerganasaurus grew up to 18 metres (59 ft) long with an estimated body mass of 15 tonnes (33,000 lb).[2]
References
edit- ^ a b Alifanov, Vladimir R.; Averianov, Alexander O. (2003-06-17). "Ferganasaurus verzilini, gen. et sp. nov., a new neosauropod (Dinosauria, Saurischia, Sauropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Fergana Valley, Kirghizia" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 23 (2): 358–372. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2003)023[0358:fvgesn]2.0.co;2. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 85902362.
- ^ Paul, G.S., 2010, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 339
External links
edit- https://web.archive.org/web/20050830082006/http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/dinobase/Yrs2000.html
- https://web.archive.org/web/20070928020945/http://www.courier.com.ru/priroda/pr1003new_31.htm
 | This Sauropodomorph-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |