Zhongyuansaurus
Sign in to saveZhongyuansaurus (meaning "Zhongyuan lizard") is an extinct genus of ankylosaurid dinosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous Haoling Formation of what is now Henan Province, China. The genus contains two species, Z. luoyangensis, named in 2007, and Z. junchangi, named in 2025, both known from a single partial skeleton. Zhongyuansaurus is similar to Gobisaurus, prompting some researchers to regard the genera as synonymous.
Article
6 sectionsContents
- Discovery and naming
- Description
- Classification
- Paleoenvironment
- See also
- References
Zhongyuansaurus (meaning "Zhongyuan lizard") is an extinct genus of ankylosaurid dinosaurs known from the Early Cretaceous Haoling Formation of what is now Henan Province, China. The genus contains two species, Z. luoyangensis, named in 2007, and Z. junchangi, named in 2025, both known from a single partial skeleton. Zhongyuansaurus is similar to Gobisaurus, prompting some researchers to regard the genera as synonymous.
==Discovery and naming== The Zhongyuansaurus type species, Z. luoyangensis, was named and described in 2007 by Xu and colleagues. The holotype specimen, HGM 41HIII-0002, consists of a nearly complete skull, fragments of the lower jaw, a cervical neural spine, dorsal vertebrae, caudal vertebrae, posterior caudal vertebral centra, fused distal caudal vertebrae, ribs, a humerus, both ischia, a pubis, and osteoderms. The specimen was collected from the Haoling Formation in Henan Province of Ruyang County, China. The specimen is accessioned at the Henan Province Geological Museum in China.