As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
A brand-new genus and types of eusauropod dinosaur has actually been determined from a fossilized partial skeleton with an almost total skull discovered in the Chinese province of Gansu.
Skull of Jinchuanloong niedu in left lateral view. Image credit: Li et aldoi: 10.1038/ s41598-025-03210-5.
The newly-identified dinosaur types strolled our world throughout the Middle Jurassic duration, some 165 million years back.
Called Jinchuanloong nieduit is an early-diverging member of a group of long-necked, strictly herbivorous, quadrupedal dinosaurs called Eusauropoda.
“Sauropod dinosaurs were massive quadrupedal herbivores, varying from the Early Jurassic to Late Cretaceous, and have actually been discovered on all continents,” Dr. Ning Li from the China University of Geosciences and associates composed in their paper.
“Due to the international warming occasion in the late Early Jurassic, eusauropods were the only enduring sauropod family tree consequently.”
“In the Middle and Late Jurassic, the non-neosauropod eusauropod ended up being dominant, represented by Shunosaurus Omeisaurusand ‘core Mamenchisaurus-like taxa’.”
The fossilized remains of Jinchuanloong niedu were gathered from the lower part of the Xinhe Formation near Jinchang city, Gansu province, northwestern China.
The specimen consists of an almost total skull with mandible, 5 cervical vertebrae appressed with the skull and 29 articulated caudal vertebrae.
Jinchuanloong niedu‘s skull is roughly 31 cm long and 12.5 cm high.
A sauropod dinosaur gone after by 2 meat-eating dinosaurs. Image credit: Lida Xing.
“The total skulls are uncommon in non-neosauropod eusauropods due to their fragility,”the paleontologists composed.
“The skull of Jinchuanloong niedu is effectively maintained and almost total. “
“The left side of the skull has actually been warped by a lateromedial compression.”
“Most cranial stitches are easily noticeable in Jinchuanloong niedu,” they included.
According to the authors, Jinchuanloong niedu is the earliest sauropod discovered in the province of Gansu.
Jinchuanloong niedu enhances the variety of the early diverging sauropods,” they concluded.
“It likewise offers extra details to assist comprehend the evolutionary history of sauropods in northwest China.”
The paper was released on May 23 in the journal Scientific Reports
_____
N. Li et al2025. A brand-new eusauropod (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) from the Middle Jurassic of Gansu, China. Sci Rep 15, 17936; doi: 10.1038/ s41598-025-03210-5
Learn more
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
