Zhejiangosaurus 

Genus: Zhejiangosaurus Lu, Jin, Sheng, Li, Wang, and Azuma, 2007

Classification: Dinosauria - Ornithischia - Thyreophora - Ankylosauria - Nodosauridae 

Etymology: Zhejiang refers to Zhejiang Province, the Chinese administrative unit, which the fossil was found from.

Synonyms: none 

Type species: Z. lishuiensis Lu, Jin, Sheng, Li, Wang, and Azuma, 2007

Other Species: none 

Diagnosis: as for the only species. 

Species: Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis Lu, Jin, Sheng, Li, Wang, and Azuma, 2007

Etymology: The specific name refers to the Chinese administrative unit Lishui, which the holotype locality belongs to.

Synonyms: none 

Holotype: ZMNH M8718, an incomplete skeleton including sacrum consisting of 8 vertebrae, complete right ilium, proximal end of ischium and complete pubis. Partial left ilium, 2 complete hindlimbs, 14 caudal vertebrae and some unidentified bones. The specimen stored in the Zhejiang Natural History Museum.

Referred Specimens: none 

Time: Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian)

Horizon: Chaochuan Formation

Location: Liancheng, Lishui of Zhejiang Province, China. GPS data: 28° 28?36.4? N, 119°51?54.3? E.

Total length: ~ 4m. 

Mass: 500-1000 kg. 

Diagnosis: The sacrum consisting of at least three true sacral vertebrae, 5 caudal dorsal vertebrae fused to form the presacral rod, the preacetabular process of the ilium relatively longer and slender; the sacral ribs are oriented dorsolaterally and slightly posteriorly; the fourth trochanter located at the femoral mid-length; the fibular much slender than the tibia; the ratio of tibia to femoral length approximate 0.46 (Lu, Jin, Sheng, Li, Wang, and Azuma, 2007).

Comments: Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis is characterized by the sacrum consisting of at least three true sacral vertebrae, 5 caudal dorsal vertebrae fused to form the presacral rod, wide divergence of long slender preacetabular process of the ilium from the middle line of the body, and the fourth trochanter located at the femoral mid-length (Lu, Jin, Sheng, Li, Wang, and Azuma, 2007).

Although the skeleton of Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis is not complete, the characters of the tail, femur and synsacrum and pelvic girdle show that it is much more similar to nodosaurid dinosaurs rather than ankylosaurid dinosaurs. The discovery of nodosaurids Zhongyuansaurus and Zhejiangosaurus further supports the idea that nodosaurid dinosaurs do exist in Asia, although both genera are not directly compared due to the lack of comparable elements between them (Lu, Jin, Sheng, Li, Wang, and Azuma, 2007).

Illustrations:

Right leg of Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis gen. et sp. nov. in medial view (A) and in lateral view (B); Left leg of Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis gen. et sp. nov. in medial review (C) and medial review (D) of the right tibia and pes of Zhejiangosaurus lishuiensis gen. et sp. nov. Scale bars = 10 cm (modified from Lu, Jin, Sheng, Li, Wang, and Azuma, 2007). 

 

References:

Lu, J., Jin, X., Sheng, Y., Li, Y., Wang, G., and Azuma, Y., 2007. New nodosaurid dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Lishui, Zhejiang Province, China: Acta Geologica Sinica, v. 81, n. 3, p. 344-350.