Zizhongosaurus (meaning "Zizhong lizard") is a genus of basal herbivorous sauropod dinosaur which lived in the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) Period of China. It was a large-bodied herbivore characterized by a long neck.
Discovery and naming
The genus and its type species Zizhongosaurus chuanchengensis were named in 1983 by Dong Zhiming, in a volume written by himself, Zhou Shiwu, and Zhang Yihong. The generic name is derived from Zizhong County in Sichuan Province. The specific name refers to the town of Chuancheng.[1]
The type specimens consist of three syntypes: V9067.1 is a partial dorsal vertebra; V9067.2 is a humerus or upper arm; and V9067.3 is a pubis. All specimens likely were part of a single skeleton, collected from the Ziliujing Formation. Zizhongosaurus was described as a small species.[1]
In 1999 Li Kui mentioned a second species: Zizhongosaurus huangshibanensis[2] but this has remained an undescribed nomen nudum.
Classification
Zizhongosaurus was originally assigned to the Cetiosaurinae but later authors have placed it in either the Vulcanodontidae, as a relative of Barapasaurus, or the Shunosaurinae. It is today often considered a nomen dubium.[citation needed]
References
- ^ a b Dong, Z., Zhou, S., Zhang, Y. (1983). "Dinosaurs from the Jurassic of Sichuan". Palaeontologica Sinica 162 New Series C 23. Science Press Peking: pp. 1-136
- ^ K. Li, Y. Zhang, K. Cai, 1999, The Characteristics of the Composition of the Trace Elements in Jurassic Dinosaur Bones and Red Beds in Sichuan Basin, Geological Publishing House, Beijing