Tianzhenosaurus
Sign in to saveTianzhenosaurus (meaning “Tianzhen lizard”) is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation of Shanxi Province, China. The genus contains two species, T. youngi (the type species) and T. chengi. Some researchers have suggested that Tianzhenosaurus may represent a junior synonym of Saichania, an ankylosaurine from the Barun Goyot and Nemegt formations.
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Discovery and naming
- Description
- Classification
- Paleoenvironment
- See also
- References
Tianzhenosaurus (meaning “Tianzhen lizard”) is a genus of ankylosaurid dinosaurs known from the Late Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation of Shanxi Province, China. The genus contains two species, T. youngi (the type species) and T. chengi. Some researchers have suggested that Tianzhenosaurus may represent a junior synonym of Saichania, an ankylosaurine from the Barun Goyot and Nemegt formations.
==Discovery and naming== thumb|left|Holotype skull of T. youngi In 1983, Pang Qiqing and Cheng Zhengwu discovered articulated cervical vertebrae of an ankylosaurid from the Shanxi Province. Numerous excavations at the site yielded more than 2,300 specimens belonging to sauropods, theropods, ornithopods and ankylosaurid specimens. The holotype specimen of Tianzhenosaurus youngi, HBV-10001, consists of a partial skull. Two paratype specimens were assigned to this species: HBV-10002 (an incomplete mandible and HBV-10003 (cervical vertebrae, dorsal vertebrae, caudal vertebrae, a sacral complex, ilia, pectoral girdles, pelvic girdles, fore and hind limbs with fore and hind feet, tail club and osteoderms) The holotype and paratype specimens were collected from the Huiquanpu Formation and are housed at the Geoscience Museum, Hebei GEO University, Shijiazhuang.