A Nwe Hadrosauroid Dinosaur from the Mid—Cretaceous of Liaoning,China

A new hadrosauroid dinosaur,Shuangmiaosaurus gilmorei gen.et sp.nov,is descuibed based on a complete left maxilla with articulated premaxilla and lacrimal fragments,and a complete left dentary from the mid-Cretaceous Sunjiawan Formation of Beipiao.Liaoning,northeastern China.Chadistic analysis shows that Shuangmiaosaurus is a basal hadrosauroid,and comprises the sister taxon to Hadrosauridae.In both Shuangmiaosqurus and Hadrosaurids.However,Shuangmiaosaurus does not possess such hadrosaurid synapomorphies as the diamond-shaped maxillary crowns with reduced primary ridges and reduced marginal denticles.     

A New Hadrosauroid Dinosaur from the Mid-Cretaceous of Liaoning, China

A new hadrosauroid dinosaur, Shuangmiaosaurus gilmorei gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a complete left maxilla with articulated premaxilla and lacrimal fragments, and a complete left dentary from the mid-Cretaceous Sunjiawan Formation of Beipiao, Liaoning, northeastern China. Cladistic analysis shows that Shuangmiaosaurus is a basal hadrosauroid, and comprises the sister taxon to Hadrosauridae. In both Shuangmiaosaurus and Hadrosauridae, the maxilla-jugal suture is butt-jointed, rather than finger-in-recess articulation as in other basal hadrosauroids. However, Shuangmiaosaurus does not possess such hadrosaurid synapomorphies as the diamond-shaped maxillary crowns with reduced primary ridges and reduced marginal denticles.     

A densely feathered ornithomimid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation,Alberta, Canada

A recently discovered articulated partial skeleton of Ornithomimus from the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation of Alberta, Canada is remarkable in the extent and quality of preservation of integumentary structures including feathers. It is the first ornithomimid to preserve a tail bearing extensive plumaceous feathers that are slightly more elongate in comparison to those present on the remainder of the body. However, the underside of the tail and the hind limb distal to the middle of the femur appear devoid of plumage. Overall, the plumage pattern in Ornithomimus is similar to that of Struthio camelus (ostrich) and other large palaeognaths, indicating a probable function in thermoregulation. The specimen also preserves the body outline around the legs, including a skin contour anterior to the femur, analogous to skin webs in extant birds. Whereas the knee web of birds bridges the knee to the abdomen, in Ornithomimus it spans from the mid-femoral shaft to the abdomen, and is herein referred to as an anterior femoral web. This is the first report of such soft tissue structures in non-avian theropods. It may indicate that the resting position of the femur was positioned more anteroventrally in ornithomimids than in most theropods, and in that sense may have been transitional to the situation in modern birds.     

A New Sauropod Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Nanyang,Henan Province

A new sauropod dinosaur Baotianmansaurus henanensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Neixiang, Henan Province is erected. It is characterized by somphospondylous presacral vertebrae; a highly-developed lamina system on the dorsal vertebrae; transverse process supported by four laminae; and the dorsal portion of the anterior centroparapophyseal lamina is bifurcated, with a small branch extending to the ventral surface of the prezygapophysis. It represents a new titanosauriform sauropod.     

A New Sauropod Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Nanyang, Henan Province

A new sauropod dinosaur Baotianmansaurus henanensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Neixiang, Henan Province is erected. It is characterized by somphospondylous presacral vertebrae; a highly-developed lamina system on the dorsal vertebrae; transverse process supported by four laminae; and the dorsal portion of the anterior centroparapophyseai lamina is bifurcated, with a small branch extending to the ventral surface of the prezygapophysis. It represents a new titanosauriform sauropod.     

A New Troodontid Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China

A new troodontid dinosaur,Daliansaurus liaoningensis gen.et sp.nov.,is erected based on a nearly complete specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao City,Liaoning Province,China.This well preserved skeleton provides important new details of the anatomy for Liaoning troodontids,and gives new insight into their phylogenetic relationships and evolution.Daliansaurus is distinguished from other troodontids by an enlarged ungual on pedal digit IV,which is approximately the same size as the sickle-shaped second ungual,and is differentiated from other Liaoning troodontids by a number of characters of the skull,manus,pelvis,and hindlimb.A phylogenetic analysis recovers Daliansaurus within a subclade of Liaoning troodontids that also includes Sinovenator,Sinusonasus,and Mei.We erect a name for this group—Sinovenatorinae—and argue that it reflects a localized radiation of small-bodied troodontids in the Early Cretaceous of eastern Asia,similar to previously recognized radiations of Liaoning dromaeosaurids and avialans.As more Liaoning theropods are discovered,it is becoming apparent that small,feathered paravians were particularly diverse during the Early Cretaceous,and future work is needed to clarify how this diversity arose,which species coexisted,and how these numerous species partitioned niches.     

内蒙古鄂尔多斯地区早白垩世原角龙类化石的发现及其意义

根据采自内蒙古自治区鄂尔多斯杭锦旗一件恐龙不完整头骨新材料的形态学特征,鉴定其为原角龙未定种(Protoceratops sp.),产出地层为下白垩统.这是原角龙属化石在早白垩世地层中的首次报道,也是该类恐龙在鄂尔多斯地区的首次记录.该化石的发现,扩大了原角龙化石在我国的地理分布范围,也丰富了鄂尔多斯地区恐龙动物群的内容.     

A New Family of Sauropod Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Tianzhen, Shanxi Province, China

A new gigantic sauropod, Huabeisaurus allocates gen. et sp. nov., about 20 m in length and 5 m in height, was discovered in the Upper Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation, Tianzhen County, Shanxi Province. It is notably different from Diplodocidae, Titanosauridae and Nemegtosauridae in the following aspects: the teeth are strong, peg-like with a length ratio of the tooth crown to tooth root at about 3 to 1; the cervical vertebrae are long with forked spines; the spines in dorsal vertebrae are relatively high, unbifiarcated; the caudal vertebrae are amphicoelous, with anterior neural spines and unbifurcated spines and chevrons; the femur is straight and long, narrow and flat and the tibia and fibula are long and flat. These characters show that the described genus should represent a new family, Huabeisauridae fam. nov. The discovery enriches the sauropod dinosaur record in China, and is quite significant to the study of the taxonomy, evolution, migration, extinction and palaeobiogeographic provincialism of the     

A densely feathered ornithomimid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Dinosaur Park Formation,Alberta, Canada: A comment

The presence of feathers in Ornithomimus is questioned on poor evidence and a failure to observe scientific process and procedure.     

A protoceratopsid skeleton with an associated track from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia

The Djadokhta Formation of the Gobi Desert is known for the number and diversity of dinosaur and other vertebrate bones and skeletons found there, but only theropod, hadrosaur and supposed ankylosaurid footprints have been reported from this stratum. Dinosaur footprints are also noted from the Nemegt Formation, and occur as typical dinosaur track accumulations (tracksites). An articulated protoceratopsid skeleton - specimen ZPAL Mg D-II/3 - was collected by the Polish-Mongolian Expedition of 1965 from the Djadokhta Formation of Flaming Cliffs in Mongolia. Recently, the natural cast of a tetradactyl digitigrade footprint was found underneath the pelvic girdle while the skeleton and matrix were being prepared. This is possibly the first find of a dinosaur track in close association with an articulated skeleton. Although Protoceratops is an extremely common dinosaur in Mongolia, its footprints have never previously been reported from the Late Cretaceous of the Gobi Desert.     

Dinosaur footprint assemblage from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation,Khorat Group,northeastern Thailand

The Khok Kruat Formation is the upper part of the Khorat Group, which consists of upper Lower Cretaceous non-marine sedimentary rocks in northeastern Thailand. Many dinosaur footprints have been known from the upper Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) Khok Kruat Formation at the Huai Dam Chum (Tha Uthen) site, northeastern Thailand. Approximately 600 tracks occur in thin mudstone layer of the northern part of the outcrop at the Huai Dam Chum track site. Two types of footprints, small-sized theropod and crocodylomorph are imprinted with mud cracks and ripple marks on the thin mud layer. Most of footprints are referred to cf. Asianopodus, and are imprinted by small-sized theropoda, probably ornithomimosauria. Theropod tracks are mainly separated into two groups, Group A and Group B. From ichnological viewpoints, the small-sized theropod track assemblage indicates the herd behaviour and its idiosyncratic group composition. In particular, the histogram of size-frequency measurements of Group A shows the anomalous bimodal distribution. We consider that there are two hypotheses; the first one is due to the male-female difference, and the second is a result of the different growing stage.     

重庆綦江中白垩统夹关组恐龙足迹群的发现及其意义

记述了来自重庆綦江中白垩统夹关组恐龙足迹群，命名了甲龙亚目的中国綦江足迹（Qijiangpussinensis ichnogen．et ichnosp．nov．）、兽脚亚目的敏捷舞足迹（Wupusagilis ichnogen．etichnosp．nov．）和鸟脚亚目的炎热老瀛山足迹（Laoyingshanpus torridus ichnogen．etichnosp．nov．）和莲花卡利尔足迹（Caririchniumlotusichnosp．nov．）等新属种。中国綦江足迹是中国首次发现甲龙类的足迹。莲花卡利尔足迹提供了鸭嘴龙类在各发育阶段所留下不同的足迹。     

滦平盆地西瓜园组(上侏罗统-下白垩统)暗色泥岩中恐龙脚印化石及其地质意义

通过对滦平盆地西瓜园组（上侏罗统－下自垩统）暗色泥岩和油页岩的岩相特征及其中所发现的各种恐龙脚印化石的研究,分析了恐龙脚印化石形成的环境。认为在前扇三角洲或深湖－半深湖环境的暗色泥岩中出现恐龙脚印化石,说明湖平面变化频繁,在枯水期,湖平面下降,前扇三角洲或深湖－半深湖相暗色泥岩暴露出水面,一些恐龙经过此处到低洼处喝水,留下脚印。由此推断中国东部古近纪陆相断陷湖盆中的暗色泥岩所夹的砂砾岩和盐岩并不全是深水重力流成因,暗色泥岩所夹的盐岩也不一定是深水成因;并建立了暗色泥岩中所夹的砂砾岩和盐岩的成因沉积模式。     

A New Iguanodontian Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation,Nakhon Ratchasima in Northeastern Thailand

Here we report a new iguanodontian dentary found from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation, Nakhon Ratchasima, northeast Thailand. A unique character, which is an elongated and flat shape of the dentary ramus, makes it possible to assign the specimen to the new genus of non‐hadrosaurid iguanodontian, Ratchasimasaurus suranareae gen. et sp. nov. R. suranareae shows both primitive and derived characters, such as a caudally inclined coronoid process and alveolar trough with a primitive crown impression, and a derived buccal shelf between tooth row and coronoid process. The discovery of a new iguanodontian from the Indochina Terrene, considering that the previously reported “Probactrosaurus‐like” iguanodontian, points out a great diversity of this group in the late Early Cretaceous in Thailand, and corresponds to the Asian iguanodontian diversity at that time.     

河北张家口早白垩世张家口组中发现恐龙化石

1 研究目的(Objective) 河北省多处地区发现大量恐龙足迹和部分鸟类足迹,其中以兽脚类为主,而植食性的蜥脚类和鸟脚类足迹较少,暗示着侏罗—白垩纪过渡期恶劣的生态环境不利于植被的生长,从而造成植食性恐龙的迁移或灭亡,而肉食性恐龙以小型体更易生存.早白垩世初期,频繁的火山活动形成了一系列赋水洼地,同时带来了丰富的养...     

Fossil Liverworts from the Lower Cretaceous Huolinhe Formation in Inner Mongolia, China

A new genus and species, Rebouliothallus huolinhensis sp. nov., and two uncertain species, Ricciopsis sp. and Hepaticites sp., are described. The fossils were collected from the Lower Cretaceous Huolinhe Formation of Huolinhe Basin, northeastern China. The new genus Rebouliothallus was established in the Aytoniaceae family of Marchantiales. Rebouliothallus huolinhensis appears to be quite similar to species of the extant genus Reboulia Raddi. The species is characterized by the relatively large ventral scales. Ventral scales are large, imbricate and arranged in two rows on the ventral surface. Rhizoids are either pegged or smooth. Ricciopsis sp. is characterized by the rosette-forming thallus. Hepaticites sp. shows some similarities to liverworts. Of the forty-nine Early Cretaceous floras of China, only two floras, one from the Huolinhe basin, Inner Mongolia and the other from the Jixi Basin, Heilongjiang Province, contain fossil liverworts. The rare fossil liverwort records in the Early Cretaceous floras of China may be the result of taphonomic bias.     

Sauropod Teeth from the Lower Cretaceous Luohandong Formation of Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia

The Early Cretaceous Zhidan Group in the northern Ordos Basin, Inner Mongolia, yielded a large number of tetrapods, including turtles, choristoderes, crocodyliforms, psittacosaurs, stegosaurs, theropods and birds. Well-preserved sauropod teeth have been found in the Luohandong Formation, a middle-upper unit of the Zhidan Group. The large V-shaped wear facet, low slenderness index value, labial grooves, lingual ridge and concavity on the tooth crown suggest that these teeth are from titanosauriforms. Moreover, the presence of the prominent bosses on the lingual side of the tooth crown indicates these teeth should be identified as Euhelopus teeth further. The existence of Euhelopus in Ordos Basin (Inner Mongolia), Shandong Province and western Liaoning Province shows some connections about vertebrate faunas during Early Cretaceous in these areas. Other tetrapod groups such as turtles (Sinemys, Ordosemys), choristoderes (Ikechosaurus), psittacosaurs (Psittacosaurus) and birds (Cathayornis) provide more evidences for this viewpoint.     

南阳盆地西峡赵营村上白垩统高沟组恐龙蛋化石埋藏特征及古环境意义

豫南南阳盆地西峡赵营村上白垩统高沟组含有较多的恐龙蛋化石,其中最为著名的是"路易贝贝"胚胎化石.对含化石地层中恐龙蛋的保存特征和古气候重建,可进一步认识白垩纪恐龙灭绝的古环境背景和原因.本文实测赵营村剖面厚约267.8 m,主要由下伏泥盆系南湾组(厚7.9 m)、上白垩统高沟组(厚259.9 m,未到顶)组成.通过地层沉积物结构构造观测和样品采集,在室内进行了元素、碳酸盐碳氧同位素组成、有机质饱和烃生标化合物等测试.结果表明,高沟组沉积物主要源于熊耳山岩浆岩的风化和短距离迁移,恐龙蛋化石主要保存于海拔200~800 m的山麓至平原过渡带的河漫滩环境,以原地埋藏为主.降雨量的变化造成河漫滩与河道频繁变化,从而导致恐龙在山麓与河漫滩之间来回迁栖.生物标志化合物分析表明,含恐龙蛋化石地层有机质主要来源于水生植物、菌藻类和陆生植物,但植被总体不发育.利用地层沉积岩Si/Al、CIA、Rb/Sr比值,以及 δ13C、δ18O等环境指标对高沟组古气候重建,该时期发生了较为快速的旋回变化,经历了暖干—暖湿—干旱—暖湿—干旱的古气候演变过程,总体上呈逐渐干旱化的趋势.通过赵营村晚白垩世早期恐龙蛋化石的埋藏、以及地层的古环境重建,说明古气候、古环境状况可能是影响恐龙生存的主要因素,大量恐龙蛋不能完全孵化以及气候的干旱化导致植被恶化可能是恐龙逐渐消亡的原因.     

内蒙古巴彦满达呼的上白垩统及动物群垂直分布特征

内蒙古巴彦满达呼与蒙古国前阿尔泰戈壁的上白垩统，同属于 Ｃａｍｐａｎｉａｎ时期的沉积，为同一个沉积盆地。可划分为滨线－浅湖、辫河 浅湖－深湖和风积三种沉积形态。原角龙个体化石具有下层大，上层较小 的垂直分布特征。     

New abelisaurid remains from the Anacleto Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Patagonia,Argentina

New theropod remains with abelisaurid affinities from the Upper Cretaceous (Anacleto Formation, lower Campanian), NW Patagonia, Argentina, are here described. The specimen (MPCN-PV 69) consists of a partial premaxilla, fragmentary vertebrae, proximal portion of both humeri, distal portion of the pubis, and an incomplete pedal ungual. Characters linking with Abelisauridae are a premaxilla with a subquadrangular body, externally ornamented, and paradental plates with a striated surface; and humerus with bulbous proximal head, conical internal tuberosity, and reduced greater tubercle. The humerus is similar to those of Carnotaurus and Aucasaurus, due to the presence of a bulbous head and a discontinuity between the head and the internal tuberosity, but also differs from both taxa in the more distal location of the greater tubercle with respect to the internal tuberosity. Aucasaurus also comes from Anacleto Formation, but differences in the humeri suggest that MPCN-PV 69 is a different taxon. The phylogenetic analysis performed supports the affiliation to Abelisauridae, but fails to determinate a more precise relationship with others abelisaurids. However, a majority rule consensus of the analysis shows a position within Brachyrostra. Despite being fragmentary, MPCN-PV 69 probably represents a new abelisaurid from the Anacleto Formation, thus increasing the knowledge and diversity of Late Cretaceous South American abelisaurids.