| Jingiella | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal diagram of the holotype | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Family: | †Mamenchisauridae |
| Genus: | †Jingiella Ren et al.,2024 |
| Species: | †J. dongxingensis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Jingiella dongxingensis Ren et al., 2024 | |
| Synonyms | |
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Jingiella is anextinct genus ofmamenchisaurid sauropod dinosaur from theLate JurassicDongxing Formation ofGuangxi, China. The genus contains asingle species,J. dongxingensis, known from vertebrae and limb bones. The original description ofJingiella referred to it using the name "Jingia" which waspreoccupied by amoth genus named in 1983, and an amendment was published shortly thereafter, establishingJingiella as the new replacement name.
TheJingiellaholotype specimen, DXJL2021001, was discovered in sediments of theDongxing Formation inDongxing town ofDongxing city inGuangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, South China. The specimen consists of fragmentary remains, including partialdorsal,sacral, andcaudal vertebrae, part of bothulnae, and theproximal end of the rightfemur. The bones were restored by theChongzhou Tianyan Museum.[1]
In 2024, Ren et al.proposed "Jingia"dongxingensis as a new genus and species of mamenchisaurid sauropod based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name,Jingia, was intended to honor Chinese people of theJing Nationality whoemigrated from Vietnam. Thespecific name,dongxingensis, references thetype locality in Dongxing City, where many Jing people live.[1] The genus name "Jingia" waspreoccupied bya moth described in 1983.[2] As such, a replacement name was needed. Ren et al. published anaddendum shortly after the original description, amending the error and establishingJingiella as the new generic name.[3]
Jingiella exhibits a combination of characteristics of more basal,Omeisaurus-like mamenchisaurids and more derived,Mamenchisaurus-like mamenchisaurids. The neural arches of the dorsal vertebrae are relatively tall and narrow, with a neural spine height approximately 4.4 times their minimum width, more similar toMamenchisaurus thanOmeisaurus. The caudal vertebrae are amphicoelous, as inOmeisaurus and most other basal eusauropods, with distinctly concave anterior faces and shallowly concave posterior faces, unlike the procoelous caudal vertebrae inMamenchisaurus.[1]
In theirphylogenetic analyses, Ren et al. (2024) recoveredJingiella as a late-diverging member of Mamenchisauridae, as thesister taxon to the clade containingMamenchisaurus youngi,Chuanjiesaurus, andWamweracaudia. Their results are shown in thecladogram below:[1]
