Xunmenglong (from Chinese: 迅猛龍/迅猛龙; pinyin: Xùnměnglóng; lit. 'swift fierce dragon') is a genus of compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the Huajiying Formation from Hebei Province in China. The type and only species is Xunmenglong yinliangis. The holotype material consists of a pelvis, tail base and hindlimbs that had previously been part of a chimera containing three different animals. The animal is described as being the smallest known member of Compsognathidae, being about the size of the sub-adult Scipionyx holotype specimen or approximately 0.5 meters (1.6 feet) in length.[1]
| Xunmenglong | |
|---|---|
| |
| Reconstructed skeleton | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Family: | †Compsognathidae |
| Genus: | †Xunmenglong Xing et al., 2019 |
| Type species | |
| †Xunmenglong yinliangis Xing et al., 2019
| |
Classification
editIn the original description, Xunmenglong is recovered as a Compsognathid in a polyomy including Compsognathus, Huaxiagnathus, and Juravenator. However, Andrea Cau (2024) recovered Xunmenglong not as a Compsognathid, but instead as a basal member of Tetanurae.[2]
References
edit- ^ Xing, Lida; Miyashita, Tetsuto; Wang, Donghao; Niu, Kechung; Currie, Philip J. (2019). "A new compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the oldest assemblage of the Jehol Biota in the Lower Cretaceous Huajiying Formation, northeastern China". Cretaceous Research. 107: 104285. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104285. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 210615455.
- ^ Cau, Andrea (2024). "A Unified Framework for Predatory Dinosaur Macroevolution" (PDF). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana. 63 (1): 1-19. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2024.08 (inactive 2024-11-20).
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of November 2024 (link)
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