| Lishulong | |
|---|---|
.png) | |
| Holotype skull | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Massopoda |
| Clade: | †Sauropodiformes |
| Genus: | †Lishulong |
| Species: | †L. wangi |
| Binomial name | |
| †Lishulong wangi Zhang et al.,2024 | |
Lishulong (Traditional Chinese: 栗樹龍Simplified Chinese : 栗树龙Pinyin : Lìshùlóng meaning "chestnut tree dragon") is a genus ofsauropodiform dinosaur from theEarly Jurassic (Sinemurian–Toarcian)Lufeng Formation of China. The type and only species isLishulong wangi.
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Theholotype specimen, LFGT-ZLJ0011, was discovered in 2007 in Jiudu Village in Konglongshan Town (formerly named Chuanjie Township),Lufeng County,Yunnan Province, China, in sediments belonging to the Shawan Member of the Lufeng Formation. It consists of a cranium, mandible, and nine cervical vertebrae. Parts of the posterior skeleton were also discovered but were lost during excavation. Following the specimen's collection andpreparation, it was sent to Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley to be displayed.[1] The type locality is close to where the fossils of thecoelophysoid theropodPanguraptor were discovered.[2][3]
The sauropodomorph remains weredescribed as belonging to a new genus and species of dinosaur in 2024. Thegeneric name,Lishulong, combines theMandarin Chinese words 栗樹/栗树(lìshù)—meaning "chestnut tree"—after the name of thetype locality, with 龍/龙 (lóng), meaning "dragon". Thespecific name,wangi, honors Wang Zheng-Ju, the discoverer ofLufengpithecus, for his contribution to vertebrate paleontology in Lufeng.[2]
At 40 centimetres (16 in) long, the skull ofLishulong is larger than any other sauropodomorph from the Lufeng Formation. The cervical vertebrae are very large and elongated; thecentrum of the first preserved cervical vertebra (theaxis) is 16.3 centimetres (6.4 in) long, and the centrum of the last preserved cervical vertebra (the tenth consecutive bone in the series) is 19.9 centimetres (7.8 in) long.[2] The relatedYunnanosaurus youngi also preserves the same bones in the neck; its axis is slightly smaller, at 13 centimetres (5.1 in) long, and its tenth cervical is 17 centimetres (6.7 in) long.Y. youngi has been estimated to have a body length of around 13 metres (43 ft).[4]
Zhang et al. (2024) includedLishulong in aphylogenetic analysis and found it to be a member of theSauropodiformes, as thesister taxon toYunnanosaurus.[2]
