| Yongjinglong | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Holotype fossils | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Family: | †Euhelopodidae |
| Genus: | †Yongjinglong Liet al.,2014 |
| Type species | |
| †Yongjinglong datangi Liet al., 2014 | |
Yongjinglong is anextinctgenus oftitanosauriformsauropoddinosaur known from theEarly Cretaceous of Lanzhou-Minhe Basin ofGansu Province,China. It contains a single species,Yongjinglong datangi.[1]
Yongjinglong was first described and named by Li-Guo Li, Da-Qing Li, Hai-Lu You andPeter Dodson in2014 and thetype species isYongjinglong datangi. Thegeneric name is derived from the name of the historicalYongjing County, near where theholotype ofYongjinglong and numerous dinosaur track fossils were collected, and fromlong, meaning "dragon" inChinese. Thespecific name,datangi, honors theTang dynasty and also Mr. Zhi-Lu Tang from theIVPP, for his contributions to the study ofdinosaurs.[1]
Yongjinglong is known solely from theholotype GSGM ZH(08)-04, a partialpostcranialskeleton and threeteeth, currently housed at theGansu Geological Museum,Gansu Province. The postcranial remains include one fragmentary dorsalrib, the leftscapulocoracoid, the rightulna andradius, as well as eight presacralvertebrae including one caudalcervical vertebra, four cranialdorsal vertebrae, and three articulated middle dorsal vertebrae. It represents a subadult individual. GSGM ZH(08)-04 was by Li Daqing and You Hailu discovered in 2008 beside the G75 Highway, less than akilometer from the quarries ofDaxiatitan andHuanghetitan liujiaxiaensis, nearZhongpu. It was collected from the upperHekou Group, in the southeastern part of the Lanzhou-Minhe Basin,Gansu Province, dating to theEarly Cretaceous.[1]
Yongjinglong was a medium-sized sauropod. The describers established some diagnostic traits. The premaxillary teeth are long and spoon-shaped. The neck vertebrae and anterior dorsal vertebrae possess large and deep pleurocoels, pneumatic depressions, that cover the entire sides of the centra. The ridges on the sides of the middle dorsal vertebrae form a pattern shaped like a "XI", with the "X" in front. The spine of at least one middle dorsal vertebra is low and not bifurcated and forms with the postzygapophyses a triangular bone plate, directed upwards. The shoulder blade is extremely long, with, in side view, exceptionally straight front and rear edges.[1]
Yongjinglong was placed in theTitanosauria by Liet al. (2014). Theircladistic analysis showed it was a member of theSomphospondyli and asister species ofOpisthocoelicaudia.[1] However, a 2019 revision of Chinese "titanosaurs" resolvedYongjinglong deeply nested withinEuhelopodidae, sister taxon toHuanghetitan andRuyangosaurus, or a clade includingEuhelopus,Erketu andGobititan.[2]
