A new genus and species of Eusauropod dinosaur were identified from a fossilized partial skeleton with an almost complete skull found in the Chinese province of Gansu.
Skull Jinchuanlo Niedu in the left side view. Image credit: Li and al., Two: 10.1038 / S41598-025-03210-5.
The newly identified dinosaurs’ species covered our planet during the average Jurassic period, around 165 million years ago.
Double Jinchuanlo NieduIt is an early divergent member of a group of long -neck quadruvating dinosaurs, strictly herbivores called Eusauropoda.
“The Sauropod dinosaurs were gigantic quadruped herbivores, ranging from the Jurassic to the upper Cretaceous to the upper Cretaceous, and were found on all continents,” wrote Dr. Ning Li of the Chinese University of Geosciences and colleagues in their article.
“Due to the global warming event at the end of the Jurassic at the start, Eusauropods were the only line of surviving Sauropod thereafter.”
“In the Jurassic of Middle and late, Eusauropod Nonosauropod has become dominant, represented by Bright,, Omeisaurusand “nucleus Mamenchisaurus-The taxa ‘. “”
The fossilized remains of Jinchuanlo Niedu were collected in the lower part of the Xinhe formation near the city of Jinchang, the province of Gansu, north-west of China.
The specimen includes an almost complete skull with a mandible, five approved cervical vertebrae with the skull and 29 articulated caudal vertebrae.
Jinchuanlo NieduThe skull is approximately 31 cm long and 12.5 cm high.
A sauropod dinosaur driven by two carnivorous dinosaurs. Image credit: Lida Xing.
“Complete skulls are rare in non -neosauropod eusauropods because of their fragility,” wrote paleontologists.
“The skull of Jinchuanlo Niedu is very well preserved and almost complete. »»
“The left side of the skull has been deformed by a late-medial compression.”
“Most cranial sutures are easily visible in Jinchuanlo NieduThey added.
According to the authors, Jinchuanlo Niedu is the first Sauropod found in the province of Gansu.
“”Jinchuanlo Niedu Enriches the diversity of the first divergent Sauropods, “they concluded.
“It also provides additional information to help understand the evolutionary history of sauropods in northwestern China.”
The document was published on May 23 in the journal Scientific relationships.
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N. Li and al. 2025. A new Eusauropod (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) of the average Jurassic of Gansu, China. SCI REP 15, 17936; Two: 10.1038 / S41598-025-03210-5
