| Jiutaisaurus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauriformes |
| Genus: | †Jiutaisaurus Wuet al., 2006 |
| Type species | |
| †Jiutaisaurus xidiensis Wuet al., 2006 | |
Jiutaisaurus (meaning "Jiutai lizard") is agenus ofsauropoddinosaur from theQuantou Formation ofJilin,China.Jiutaisaurus was asauropod which lived during theCretaceous. Thetype species,Jiutaisaurus xidiensis, was described by Wuet al. in 2006, and is based on eighteenvertebrae. It probably lived alongsideChangchunsaurus andHelioceratops.
In September 2003, a team from Jilin University conducted a fossil excavation in Xidi Village,Jiutai, and recovered 18 caudalvertebrae from asauropod, as well as some other fossils. In March 2006, Wu Wenhao,Dong Zhiming, Sun Yuewu, Li Chuntian, and Li Tao described the vertebrae as a new genus and species,Jiutaisaurus xidiensis (Chinese:西地九台龙;pinyin:Xīdì Jiǔtáilóng), named for the discovery site.[1]
Jiutaisaurus xidiensis is known only from theholotype specimen, CAD-02, which was recovered from the Cretaceous-agedQuantou Formation. The specimen consists of 18 articulated caudal vertebrae, hypothesized to represent the 11th to 28th vertebrae of the caudal series, and 13haemal arches.[1]
In their original description, Wu and colleagues tentatively classifiedJiutaisaurus as atitanosaur, also noting similarities toHuabeisauridae andBrachiosauridae.[1] Subsequent authors have considered it to be an indeterminatetitanosauriform.[2] Wilson and Upchurch, in 2009, considered it anomen dubium.[3]
