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An tremendous , extremely well preserved dinosaur skull unearthed inChinabelongs to a never - before - seen species , researchers say .
The early sauropod relative was get a line in 2007 in the Lufeng Dinosaur National Geopark in Yunnan Province , southerly China . It arise to monolithic proportion — reaching up to 33 feet ( 10 meters ) in distance , research worker figure .
The skull ofLishulong wangiwas unearthed atthe Lufeng Dinosaur National Geopark in Yunnan Province, southern China
The species , namedLishulong wangi , belong to the grouping known as the sauropodomorphs , which include sauropods — such as Brontosaurus and Diplodocus — and their ascendent .
The sediments in which it was found escort to the Early Jurassic Hettangian Age ( 201.3 million to 199.3 million age ago ) , concord to the study published Dec. 12 , 2024 in the journalPeerJ.
L. wangiis in all probability the with child non - sauropod sauropodomorph unearthed from the Lufeng Formation , the source claim . The formation has been particularly rich in early sauropodomorphs : seven other genus have been come across there as well .
The exquisite preservation of the skull is rare in sauropodomorphs. Researchers think the remains were moved after death, as the rest of the bones were absent.
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The finely grained sediment of the region helped preserve the animal remains , study steer authorQian - Nan Zhang , a paleontologist with the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences , severalise Live Science . The clays , moxie and silt deposited by the lakes and river that shaped the landscape protected the dinosaur rest from corrosion . The mineral in the sediment then infiltrated the bone structure , contributing to fossilization .
These circumstance likely contributed to the exquisite preservation of the skull , which is rarified in sauropodomorphs . While it was squashed by the sediments layer on top of it , only a smattering of the cranial bone were lost .
Non - sauropodan sauropodomorphs were themost prevalent medium to big herbivorous dinosaursuntil the Middle Jurassic ( 174.1 million to 163.5 million years ago ) . Unlike the plodding heavyweight that replaced them , they were able to take the air on just their hind limbs . They share ancestors with theropod — such asTyrannosaurus rex — which retained a bipedal military strength .
The young find incorporate a skull and nine or neck vertebra . " Due to the lack of preserved shoulder girdle , pelvic girdle , and branch bones in this specimen , it is not potential to regulate whether it was two-footed or quadrupedal , " Zhang order .
However , she added that its nearest relative , Yunnanosaurus , is conceive to have been partly quadrupedal ( being able to flip between two and four leg ) , suggesting thatL. wangimay have been as well . The research worker severalise the two coinage in part due to the differing sizes of their nasal openings — L. wangihad bigger nostrils .
The specie was likely an herbivore . " Their main food for thought sources were probably gymnosperms and other primitive plant types . This likely include ferns , cycads , maidenhair tree , and conifer , " Zhang say .
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The animal was likely fledged when it go . " Based on the fusion of skeletal component in the skull and cervical vertebra , as well as the overall size of the individual , it is inferred that this specimen in all probability represents an adult , " Zhang said .
It ’s still unclear howL. wangimet its ending . " Because the specimen is only preserved with its skull and cervical vertebrae and lack other bones , it suggests that the cadaver have undergone transportation after decease , elaborate the determination of the causal agent of decease , " Zhang said .
