Hongshanosaurus

Speculative reconstruction of Hongshanosaurus, leaning on Psittacosaurus

  • China
  • H. Houi You et al., 2003

Hongshanosaurus is a little known genus of dinosaur bird Beck from the group of ceratopsians. It is closely related to Psittacosaurus and forms the Psittacosauridae.

Holotype of Hongshanosaurus is the skull of a young animal, which is almost completely preserved. Addition, it is still the 20 -centimeter-long skull of an adult animal known, which is about the larger representatives of Psittacosaurus. From its known relatives he differs, inter alia, that the location before the eye socket of the skull accounts for half the length of the skull that nose and eye socket are elliptical and that the lower cranial window of the temple region to the rear and bottom ( caudodorsal ) is directed. About the remaining body of this dinosaur is not known, it may be moved like Psittacosaurus mainly on two legs ( biped ) continued. He was like all ceratopsians herbivores.

The findings of Hongshanosaurus come from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province of China and were first described in 2003. The generic name alludes to the Neolithic Hongshan culture, the type species and only known species is H. Houi. The dating of this formation is controversial. The fossil comes from the Lower Cretaceous, probably from the early Aptian and is thus about 126-123 million years old.

After comparing the skull morphology Hongshanosaurus mid-2013 was synonymized with Psittacosaurus lujiatunensis, as can be identified apomorphies of the genus explained by the dorsoventral crushing of the skull.

Swell

  • You H., Xu X. and Wang X.: A new genus of Psittacosauridae ( Dinosauria: ornithopods ) and the origin and early evolution of dinosaurs marginocephalian. In: Acta Geologica Sinica (English edition) 77 (1 ), 2003, pp. 15-20. Abstract
  • You H. & Xu X: An adult specimen of Hongshanosaurus Houi ( Dinosauria: Psittacosauridae ) from the Lower Cretaceous of Western Liaoning Province, China. In: Acta Geologica Sinica (English edition) 79 (2), 2005, pp. 168-173. Abstract
  • Hongshanosaurus on Dinodata.org
Mya (unit) Cerapoda
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