| Bashunosaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Hypothetical illustration ofBashunosaurus as amacronarian | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria (?) |
| Genus: | †Bashunosaurus Kuang, 2004 |
| Species: | †B. kaijiangensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Bashunosaurus kaijiangensis Kuang, 2004[1] | |
Bashunosaurus is a genus of potentiallymacronarian sauropod dinosaur from the MiddleJurassicShaximiao Formation ofKaijiang,China. The type and only species isBashunosaurus kaijiangensis.
Theholotype ofBashunosaurus, KM 20100, was discovered in sediments of the lower Shaximiao Formation inMaanping,Sichuan Province, China. It consists of sixcervical vertebrae, eightdorsal vertebrae, a partial leftscapula, and a righthumerus,ulna,ilium,femur,tibia, andfibula. An additional right ilium, specimen KM 20103, was assigned as aparatype.[2]
The name "Bashunosaurus kaijiangensis" first appeared in Ouyang's description ofAbrosaurus in 1989,[3] although without a description or diagnosis, making it anomen nudum (i.e. a nickname that is unavailable for use as an actual scientific name). Liet al. (1999), however, attribute the naming to "Kuang, 1996", still considering it anomen nudum.[4] Although it was finally formally named by Kuang in 2004,[2] George Olshevsky's influential onlineDinosaur Genera List continued to list it as anomen nudum and possible synonym ofDatousaurus.[5] It was largely ignored in modern literature until Daiet al.'s description ofYuzhoulong in 2022, where it is discussed.[6]
As a sauropod,Bashunosaurus would have been a large quadrupedalherbivore with a robust body. Kuang (2004) estimated its length as about 10–12 m (32.8–39.4 ft).[2]
The precise classification ofBashunosaurus is unknown, with different authors proposing different ideas. Liet al. (1999) consider it acamarasaurid,[4] while Kuang (2004) gives a more precise position in the Camarasaurinae, morederived thanAbrosaurus but morebasal thanCamarasaurus.[2] Molina-Perez and Larramendi (2020) list it as a primitiveneosauropod similar toBellusaurus,Daanosaurus,Dashanpusaurus andKlamelisaurus, although they comment that it is also "similar toAbrosaurus andDatousaurus".[7] Daiet al. (2022) compare the taxon toYuzhoulong, noting the fact it was described as a macronarian, although they caution that a reappraisal is needed to confirm this in a cladistic context.[6][8]
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