| Bienosaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype right dentary | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Saphornithischia |
| Clade: | †Genasauria |
| Clade: | †Thyreophora |
| Genus: | †Bienosaurus Dong,2001[1] |
| Species: | †B. lufengensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Bienosaurus lufengensis Dong, 2001 | |
Bienosaurus (meaning "Boien's lizard) is adubiousgenus ofthyreophorandinosaur from the EarlyJurassic (probablyHettangian toSinemurian) LowerLufeng Formation ofYunnan Province inChina.
The Lufeng Basin inChina has been a location for the collection ofEarly Jurassic dinosaurs since 1938. In 1938 and 1939 Chinese paleontologist Mei Nien Bien collected material from the Dark Red Beds of the lowerLufeng Formation that included the nearly complete jaw and partial skull of a relative of the armored dinosaurScelidosaurus, though it was not described as such until 2001. In 2001, Chinese paleontologistDong Zhiming described this specimen,IVPP V 9612, as a new member of the familyScelidosauridae,Bienosaurus lufengensis. Thegenus name is in honor of the collector Bien and combines with it theAncient Greek word σαυρος (sauros) for "lizard", while thespecific name is for the Lufeng Basin where theholotype skull was found.[1] The species name was originally going to honorMichael Crichton, author ofJurassic Park, as "Bienosaurus crichtoni".[2] As it comes from the lower Lufeng Formation,Bienosaurus would be one of the earliest knownornithischians, living in theHettangian toSinemurian of the Early Jurassic.[3]
Bienosaurus was revisited by British paleontologists Thomas Raven, Paul Barrett, Susannah Maidment and Chinese paleontologistXu Xing in 2019. They noted that the holotype number given by Dong, IVPP V 9612, was already in use for the holotype ofSinornithoides, and thatBienosaurus had been reassigned the specimen number IVPP V15311 instead. As well, due to the incomplete and fragmentary nature of the material, it could not be distinguished from otherthyreophorans and was thusdubious, with the possibility that it could represent the same taxon asTatisaurus from the same formation. It does show anatomy typical of an early thyreophoran likeScelidosaurus, but no unique features to support Scelidosauridae.[3]
Dong in 2001 placedBienosaurus in theScelidosauridae, considering these to be part of theAnkylosauria. Later publications suggested a general position basal in theThyreophora. In 2019 a study confirmed this, concludingBienosaurus was anomen dubium, possibly identical toTatisaurus from the same formation.[3]
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