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. 2020 Sep 8:8:e9832.
doi: 10.7717/peerj.9832. eCollection 2020.

A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China

Yuqing Yang  1   2   3 , Wenhao Wu  4   5 , Paul-Emile Dieudonné  6 , Pascal Godefroit  7
Affiliations

A new basal ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of China

Yuqing Yang et al. PeerJ. .

Abstract

A new basal ornithopod dinosaur, based on two nearly complete articulated skeletons, is reported from the Lujiatun Beds (Yixian Fm, Lower Cretaceous) of western Liaoning Province (China). Some of the diagnostic features of Changmiania liaoningensis nov. gen., nov. sp. are tentatively interpreted as adaptations to a fossorial behavior, including: fused premaxillae; nasal laterally expanded, overhanging the maxilla; shortened neck formed by only six cervical vertebrae; neural spines of the sacral vertebrae completely fused together, forming a craniocaudally-elongated continuous bar; fused scapulocoracoid with prominent scapular spine; and paired ilia symmetrically inclined dorsomedially, partially covering the sacrum in dorsal view. A phylogenetic analysis places Changmiania liaoningensis as the most basal ornithopod dinosaur described so far. It is tentatively hypothesized that both Changmiania liaoningensis specimens were suddenly entrapped in a collapsed underground burrow while they were resting, which would explain their perfect lifelike postures and the complete absence of weathering and scavenging traces. However, further behavioural inference remains problematic, because those specimens lack extensive sedimentological and taphonomic data, as it is also the case for most specimens collected in the Lujiatun Beds so far.

Keywords: Dinosauria; Liaoning province; Lower Cretaceous; Ornithopoda; Yixian formation.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Changmiania liaoningensis, an ornithopod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Lujiatun (Liaoning Province, China).
(A) Holotype PMOL AD00114 in dorsal view; (B) anterior part of the holotype PMOL AD00114 in caudolateral view; (C) referred specimen PMOL LFV022 in dorsal view. Red arrows indicate the emplacement of the gastrolith clusters.
Figure 2
Figure 2. Skull of PMOL AD00114 in right lateral view.
(A) Photograph; (B) line drawing.
Figure 3
Figure 3. Skull of PMOL AD00114 in left dorsolateral view.
(A) Photograph; (B) line drawing.
Figure 4
Figure 4. Skull of PMOL AD00114 in dorsal view.
(A) Photograph; (B) line drawing.
Figure 5
Figure 5. Skull of PMOL AD00114 in right lateral view.
(A) Close-up of the premaxillary region; (B) close-up of the maxillary region; (C) close-up of the maxillary teeth.
Figure 6
Figure 6. Skull of PMOL AD00114.
(A) Antorbital fenestra region in right lateral view; (B) left squamosal and postorbital in dorsolateral view; (C) caudal half of the skull in right lateral view.
Figure 7
Figure 7. Postdentary bones of JMOL AD00114 in right lateral view.
Figure 8
Figure 8. Axial skeleton of Changmiania liaoningensis.
(A) Cervical vertebrae 2 to 4 of PMOL AD00114 in right lateral view; (B) cervical and dorsal series of PMOL AD00114 in left lateral view; (C) neck region of PMOL LFV022 in right dorsolateral view. Abbreviations: cv: cervical vertebra; d: dorsal vertebra.
Figure 9
Figure 9. Axial skeleton of PMOL AD00114.
(A) Sacrum and proximal caudal vertebrae in dorsal view; (B) proximal caudal vertebrae in right lateral view; (C) distal caudal vertebrae in left lateral view. Abbreviation: ca, caudal vertebra.
Figure 10
Figure 10. Scapular girdle and forelimb of Changmiania liaoningensis.
(A) Photograph and (B) line drawing of the right scapular girdle and forelimb of PMOL AD00114; (C) detail of the right scapulocoracoid of PMOL AD00114 in lateral view; (D) left forelimb of PMOL LFV022 in dorsal view. Abbreviation: mc, metacarpal.
Figure 11
Figure 11. Pelvic girdle and hindlimbs of PMOL AD00114.
(A) Right ilium in lateral view; (B) photograph of distal ischia and right hindlimb; (C) line drawing of distal ischia and right hindlimb; (D) left foot in dorsal view; (E) gastroliths.
Figure 12
Figure 12. Phylogenetic position of Changmiania liaoningensis gen. et sp. nov. among Ornithischia.
Strict consensus tree of 49 MPT’s. Tree Length = 859. Nodal support (Bremer indices >1) is indicated above or below the branches.
Figure 13
Figure 13. Phylogenetic position of Changmiania liaoningensis gen. et sp. nov. among Ornithischia.
Fully-resolved agreement subtree obtained after the exclusion of five unstable ‘wilcard’ taxa, carried out using the ‘Comparisons-Agreement subtree(s)’ option of TN. Fully-resolved agreement subtree obtained after the exclusion of five unstable ‘wilcard’ taxa, carried out using the ‘Comparisons-Agreement subtree(s)’ option of TNT (Goloboff, Farris & Nixon, 2008).
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Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Belgian Federal Science Policy (BR/143/A3/COLDCASE). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

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