Wudingloong wui was a little-to medium-sized non-sauropodan member of Sauropodomorpha, among the most effective dinosaurian groups with a nearly international circulation, covering from Antarctica to Greenland.

“Chinese non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs are primarily understood in the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation in Lufeng and its nearby locations, Yunnan province, and they are represented by Lufengosaurus Yunnanosaurus Jingshanosaurus Xingxiulong Yizhousaurusand some other types,” stated Geological Museum of China paleontologist Ya-Ming Wang and associates.

Qianlongwhich was reported from the Lower Jurassic Ziliujing Formation of surrounding Guizhou province, represents a current discovery broadening our understanding on the circulation of the non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs in China.”

“The discovery of Wudingloong wui supplies more proof that the southwestern China sauropodomorph assemblage is among the most taxonomically varied and morphologically diverse in the pre-Toarcian Early Jurassic around the world, represented by different types from near the base of the Massopoda to non-sauropodan sauropodiforms.”

The fossilized bones of Wudingloong wui were gathered from the Yubacun Formation at Wande town in China’s Yunnan province.

“The specimen is a partial skeleton consisting of skull and mandible, atlas-axis, 3rd to the tenth cervical vertebrae, initially to the seventh dorsal vertebrae, dorsal ribs, ideal scapula and coracoid, ideal forelimb consisting of humerus, ulna, radius, and manus,” the paleontologists stated.

“The totally co-ossified cranial components and totally closed neurocentral stitches of the vertebrae shows that the specimen was most likely a fully grown person.”

Wudingloong wui represents the earliest-diverging and stratigraphically earliest sauropodomorph dinosaur found in East Asia up until now.

“The brand-new types is positioned as an earlier-diverging sauropodomorph than Massospondylidae and Sauropodiformes, which includes brand-new details to the sauropodomorph assemblage of southwestern China,” the scientists stated.

“Therefore, the Early Jurassic southwestern China sauropodomorph assemblage is now most likely represented by 4 distinct associations of types, consisting of the reasonably little and gracile Wudingloongthe medium-sized massospondylid Lufengosaurus (and potentially Xixiposaurusthe medium-large-bodied and potentially quadrupedal massopodans, and the early-diverging sauropodiforms, which resembles the Late Triassic-Early Jurassic early sauropodomorph assemblages that have a larger time variety, consisting of the Elliot Formation of South Africa, the South America, and the Zimbabwean sauropodomorph assemblages.”

“The close phylogenetic relationship in between Wudingloong and Plateosauravus from the Late Triassic Lower Elliot Formation of South Africa and Ruehleia from the Late Triassic of Germany suggests that the dispersal of early sauropodomorphs in East Asia either took place a minimum of in Rhaetian (206 to 201.4 million years ago) of the Late Triassic or simply occurred around the Triassic-Jurassic limit (201.4 million years ago).”

“Further discoveries of more specimens and other analyses are required to evaluate this hypothesis.”

“Nonetheless, the discovery of Wudingloong raises the concern about the association in between the circulation of the East Asian non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs and the Triassic-Jurassic termination occasion.”

The group’s paper was released in the journal Scientific Reports

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YM. Wang et al2025. A brand-new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and earliest sauropodomorph of East Asia. Sci Rep 15, 26749; doi: 10.1038/ s41598-025-12185-2