Gongxianosaurus

Gong-ze-an-o-sore-us.
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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

Gongxianosaurus ‭(‬Gong Xian lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Gong-ze-an-o-sore-us.

Named By

X.‭ ‬He,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Wang,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Liu,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Zhou,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Liu,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Cai‭ & ‬B.‭ ‬Dai‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda.‭

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

G.‭ ‬shibeiensis‭

Size

Roughly about‭ ‬14‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Sichuan Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Ziliujing Formation,‭ ‬Dongyuemiao Member.

Time Period

Toarcian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial skull and post cranial skeletal remains of at last‭ ‬4‭ ‬individuals.

In Depth

       Gongxianosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known to have lived in China towards the end of early Jurassic.‭ ‬When compared to other early sauropods,‭ ‬Gongxianosaurus is generally thought to be fairly intermediate in development,‭ ‬being more advanced than genera such as Melanorosaurus and Antetonitrus,‭ ‬but not as advanced as genera such as Vulcanodon and Tazoudasaurus.‭ ‬The presence of sauropodomorph dinosaurs such as Lufengosaurus later in the Jurassic,‭ ‬indicates that early Asian sauropod dinosaurs like Gongxianosaurus did not immediately replace them.‭ ‬Although Gongxianosaurus is known by a few individuals,‭ ‬some of‭ ‬these may actually represent a second species.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A new species of sauropod from the Early Jurassic of Gongxian Co.,‭ ‬Sichuan‭ ‬18‭(‬1‭)‬:1-6.‭ ‬-‭ ‬X.‭ ‬He,‭ ‬C.‭ ‬Wang,‭ ‬S.‭ ‬Liu,‭ ‬F.‭ ‬Zhou,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬Liu,‭ ‬K.‭ ‬Cai‭ & ‬B.‭ ‬Dai‭ ‬-‭ ‬1998. -‭ ‬A New Sauropod,‭ ‬Gongxianosaurus,‭ ‬from the Lower Jurassic of Sichuan,‭ ‬China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Acta Geologica Sinica,‭ ‬English Edition‭ ‬74‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬132‭–‬136.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Luo Yaonan‭ & ‬Wang Changsheng‭ ‬-‭ ‬2000.

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