Erliansaurus

Er-le-an-sore-us.
Published on

Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Erliansaurus ‭(‬Erlian lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Er-le-an-sore-us.

Named By

X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬Z.-H.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Sereno,‭ ‬X.-J.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬X.-W.‭ ‬Kuang,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Han‭ & ‬L.‭ ‬Tan‭ ‬-‭ ‬2002.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Therizinosauroidea.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

E.‭ ‬bellamanus‭

Size

Holotype estimated about‭ ‬2.5‭ ‬meters long,‭ ‬but this is a subadult,‭ ‬and fully grown adults would have been larger.

Known locations

Mongolia‭ ‬-‭ ‬Iren Dabasu Formation.

Time Period

Campanian/Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial remains including limbs,‭ ‬pelvis and vertebrae.

In Depth

       Erliansaurus is a genus of primitive therizinosauroid from the late Cretaceous of Mongolia,‭ ‬and the fact that the holotype comes from around the late Campanian and early Maastrichtian is an indication that Erliansaurus was a late surviving form that managed to exist in Asia at a time when other more advanced therizinosaurs were common.‭ ‬Erliansaurus should not be confused with the similarly named Erlikosaurus,‭ ‬which is also of genus of therizinosaur.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new therizinosauroid‭ (‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Theropoda‭) ‬from the Upper Cretaceous Iren Dabasu Formation of Nei Mongol.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Vertebrata PalAsiatica‭ ‬40‭(‬3‭)‬:228-240.‭ ‬-‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xu,‭ ‬Z.-H.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Sereno,‭ ‬X.-J.‭ ‬Zhao,‭ ‬X.-W.‭ ‬Kuang,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬Han‭ & ‬L.‭ ‬Tan‭ ‬-‭ ‬2002.

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