Lanzhousaurus Explained

Lanzhousaurus (meaning "Lanzhou lizard") is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur. Lanzhousaurus lived in the Gansu region of what is now China during the Early Cretaceous (Barremian). A partial skeleton has been recovered from the Hekou Group. It was described by You, Ji and Li in 2005 and the type and only species is Lanzhousaurus magnidens.[1] It's been estimated to be about 10 meters (33 feet) in length and 6 tonnes (6.6 short tons) in weight.[2]

Dentition

The genus has been described as having "astonishingly huge teeth", among the largest for any herbivorous creature ever, which indicate it was a styracosternan iguanodont. The mandible, longer than one meter, suggests a very large size for the animal. Tooth enamel of this dinosaur was growing very rapidly.[3]

Classification

In their 2020 reassessment of the hadrosauromorph Orthomerus, Madzia, Jagt & Mulder ran phylogenetic analyses of Iguanodontia. In their analyses, Lanzhousaurus was recovered as a non-hadrosauriform styracosternan member of the Ankylopollexia, similar to the 2005 description by You, Ji & Li. The results of their phylogenetic analyses are shown in the cladogram below:[4] [1]

Notes and References

  1. You . Hailu . Ji . Qiang . Li . Daqing . 2005 . Lanzhousaurus magnidens gen. et sp. nov. from Gansu Province, China: the largest-toothed herbivorous dinosaur in the world . 中国甘肃发现世界上最大牙齿的植食性恐龙:巨齿兰州龙(新属、新种) . Geological Bulletin of China . en . 24 . 9 . 785–794 . 1671-2552.
  2. Book: Paul, Gregory S.. The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (2nd ed.). Princeton University Press. 2016. New Jersey. 319.
  3. [Celina A. Suarez]
  4. Madzia . Daniel . Jagt . John W. M. . Mulder . Eric W. A. . 2020-04-01 . Osteology, phylogenetic affinities and taxonomic status of the enigmatic late Maastrichtian ornithopod taxon Orthomerus dolloi (Dinosauria, Ornithischia) . . 108 . 104334 . 10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104334 . 0195-6671. free .