| Datonglong | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Ornithopoda |
| Genus: | †Datonglong Xuet al.,2016 |
| Species: | †D. tianzhenensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Datonglong tianzhenensis Xuet al., 2016 | |
Datonglong is an extinct genus of herbivorousornithopoddinosaur, belonging to theHadrosauroidea, which lived in theLate Cretaceous period in present-dayChina. Itstype species isDatonglong tianzhenensis.
In 2008, a team from theShanxi Museum of Geological and Mineral Science and Technology in the Kangdailiang quarry inShanxi discovered the jaw of aeuornithopod.[1]
In 2016, the speciesDatonglong tianzhenensis was named and described by Xu Shicha, You Hailu, Wang Jiawei, Wang Suozhu, Yi Jian, and Jia Lei. The generic name refers to the city ofDatong and the Chinese wordlong (龍), which means "dragon". The specific name refers to its origins inTianzhen county.[1]Datonglong was one of eighteen dinosaur taxa from 2015 to be described in open access or free-to-read journals.[2]
Theholotype,SXMG V 00005, consists of a portion of the lower jaw with some preserved teeth. The fossil was found in a layer of theHuiquanpu Formation. Though the exact time the fossil was deposited is unknown, it is believed to date from somewhere in theCenomanian-Campanian timeframe, roughly 95 to 80 million years ago.[1]
Datonglong was described as a new genus because of its unique dental structures. In the middle and back of the jaw are two functional teeth in each tooth position. Further, the main ridge of the tooth on the inner side is situated more to the back, while the secondary ridge is well developed. There are no further vertical ridges. The top of the tooth crown is bent slightly backwards.[1]
The only known fossil of dinosaur's dentarium has a length of 34 centimetres (13 in) and contains at least twenty-seven tooth positions, though it is believed it may have possessed up to twenty-nine tooth positions. Theprocessus coronoides[clarification needed] is vertically oriented. The teeth are large, standing up to 5.5 centimetres (2.2 in) for a tooth not yet broken out. Teeth stand in groups of three or four in the tooth battery.[1]
Datonglong is in theHadrosauroidea clade, and is closely related to, but not part of, theHadrosauridae family. However, this placement is not based on an exactcladistic analysis.[1]
