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[dinosaur] Xingxiulong (Early Jurassic Sauropodomorpha) Cranium and Vertebral Column




Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com

A new paper:


YaâMing Wang, ÂTao Wang, ÂZhiâWen Yang Â& ÂHaiâLu You (2019)
Cranium and Vertebral Column of Xingxiulong chengi (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Early Jurassic of China.
The Anatomical Record Â(advance online publication)
doi: https://doi.org/10.1002/ar.24305
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.24305



The Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation in Yunnan Province of southwestern China provides one of the most abundant records of sauropodomorphs in the world. However, most of them have not been fully described. Xingxiulong chengi is among the most complete nonâsauropodan sauropodomorphs ever discovered from Lufeng Formation and is represented by three partial skeletons. Here, we provide a detailed osteological description of its axial skeleton, including both the cranial and postcranial elements, and compare its anatomy with that of other known nonâsauropodan sauropodomorphs. In general, the cranium of Xingxiulong is more similar to those of more basal sauropodomorphs than to sauropodiforms, as evidenced by features such as an only slightly concave dorsal margin of the postorbital, a caudally placed rostral margin of the infratemporal fenestra not extending below the orbit, and long and slender basipterygoid processes divergent from each other at an angle of approximately 80 degrees. However, its postcranial axial skeleton possesses some unique or relatively derived features among basal sauropodomorphs, such as four sacral vertebrae and caudal dorsal vertebrae with laterally expanded neural spine tables. This provides future workers with a reassessment of nonâsauropodan sauropodomorphs through the lens of Xingxiulong chengi, which will serve to increase our knowledge on the anatomy, phylogeny, and furthermore, evolution of sauropodomorph dinosaurs.