Jiutaisaurus (meaning "Jiutai lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Quantou Formation of Jilin, China. Jiutaisaurus was a sauropod which lived during the Cretaceous. The type species, Jiutaisaurus xidiensis, was described by Wu et al. in 2006, and is based on eighteen vertebrae. It probably lived alongside Changchunsaurus and Helioceratops.
| Jiutaisaurus Temporal range: Early-Late Cretaceous,
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauriformes |
| Genus: | †Jiutaisaurus Wu et al., 2006 |
| Type species | |
| †Jiutaisaurus xidiensis Wu et al., 2006
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Discovery and naming
editIn September 2003, a team from Jilin University conducted a fossil excavation in Xidi Village, Jiutai, and recovered 18 caudal vertebrae from a sauropod, as well as some other fossils. In March 2006, Wu Wenhao, Dong Zhiming, Sun Yuewu, Li Chuntian, and Li Tao described the vertebrae as a new genus and species, Jiutaisaurus xidiensis (Chinese: 西地九台龙; pinyin: Xīdì Jiǔtáilóng), named for the discovery site.[1]
Fossil record
editJiutaisaurus xidiensis is known only from the holotype specimen, CAD-02, which was recovered from the Cretaceous-aged Quantou Formation. The specimen consists of 18 articulated caudal vertebrae, hypothesized to represent the 11th to 28th vertebrae of the caudal series, and 13 haemal arches.[1]
Classification
editIn their original description, Wu and colleagues tentatively classified Jiutaisaurus as a titanosaur, also noting similarities to Huabeisauridae and Brachiosauridae.[1] Subsequent authors have considered it to be an indeterminate titanosauriform.[2] Wilson and Upchurch, in 2009, considered it a nomen dubium.[3]
References
edit
- ^ a b c Wu, Wen-hao; Dong, Zhi-ming; Sun, Yue-wu; Li, Chun-tian; Li, Tao (2006). "A new sauropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous of Jiutai, Jilin, China". Global Geology. 25 (1): 6–8.
- ^ Mannion, Philip D.; Upchurch, Paul; Barnes, Rosie N.; Mateus, Octávio (2013). "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 168: 98–206. doi:10.1111/zoj.12029.
- ^ Wilson, Jeffrey A.; Upchurch, Paul (2009-05-26). "Redescription and reassessment of the phylogenetic affinities of Euhelopus zdanskyi (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the early cretaceous of China". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 7 (2): 199–239. doi:10.1017/S1477201908002691. eISSN 1478-0941. ISSN 1477-2019.
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