| Equijubus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Reconstructed skeleton | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | †Ornithischia |
| Clade: | †Ornithopoda |
| Genus: | †Equijubus Youet al., 2003 |
| Species: | †E. normani |
| Binomial name | |
| †Equijubus normani Youet al., 2003 | |
Equijubus (Chinese:马鬃龙;pinyin:Mǎzōng lóng;Mǎzōng meaning "horse mane" after the area Mǎzōng Mountain 马鬃山 in which it was found), is agenus of herbivoroushadrosauroiddinosaur from theEarly Cretaceous (Albianstage) of northwestern China.
Thetype (and only known) specimen was found in the summer of 2000 by a Chinese-American expedition in theMazong (= "horse mane") Shan area of China'sGansu Province.[1] In 2002You Hialu in a dissertation named and described the speciesEquijubus normani. The generic name is derived fromLatinequus, "horse", andjuba, "mane". Thespecific epithet "normani" is in honour ofBritishpalaeontologistDavid B. Norman.[2] However, such anomen ex dissertatione does not constitute a valid name.
Thetype speciesEquijubus normani was formally named in an article by You,Luo Zhexi,Neil Shubin,Lawrence Witmer,Tang Zhilu andTang Feng in 2003.[1]
The type specimen orholotype,IVPP V12534, consists of a complete skull with articulated (attached) lower jaws, plus associated incompletepostcrania: ninecervical (neck), sixteendorsal (back), and sixsacral (pelvic)vertebrae. It was found influvio-lacustrine sediments of theMiddle Grey Unit of theXinminpu Group, Gonpoquan Basin, Mazong Shan,Gansu Province, China.[1]
Wu, You & Li (2018) describedgrass microfossils extracted from a specimen ofEquijubus normani, which at the time of their description were the oldest known grass fossils, and might be the oldest known evidence of a dinosaur feeding on grasses, implying that it was most likely agrazer.[3]
Equijubus is a relatively largeeuornithopod.Gregory S. Paul in 2010 estimated the length at seven metres, the weight at 2.5 tonnes.[4] Apalpebral bone seems to be absent, meaning the eyes were not overshadowed by an upper rim as with most related species.
Equijubus was described as a basal hadrosauroid dinosaur, although it may turn out to be a non-hadrosauroidiguanodont. The discoverers considered it to be the basal-most of the hadrosauroids, and suggested that this group emerged inAsia.[1]
