Luoyanggia Explained

Luoyanggia (meaning "from Luoyang") is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur known from the Early Cretaceous Haoling Formation of the Ruyang Basin in Henan Province, central China. The type species is L. liudianensis.^[1] Holtz estimated it at 1.5 meters (5 ft) and around 2.27-9.1 kg (5-20 lbs).^[2] Molina-Pérez and Larramendi gave a similar size of 1.2 meters (4 ft) and 8.5 kg (18.7 lbs).^[3]

Paleobiology

Non-avian dinosaurs that co-existed with Luoyanggia included Ruyangosaurus, Zhongyuansaurus, Yunmenglong, Xianshanosaurus, and "Huanghetitan" ruyangensis. The type horizon of Luoyanggia was initially thought to date Cenomanian stage of the late Cretaceous period, but extensive fieldwork in the Ruyang Basin and invertebrate and microfossil assemblages indicate an Aptian-Albian age for the Haoling Formation.^[4]

See also

• Timeline of oviraptorosaur research

Notes and References

1. Lü., J., Xu, L., Jiang, X., Jia, S., Li, M., Yuan, C., Zhang, X. and Ji, Q. (2009). "A preliminary report on the new dinosaurian fauna from the Cretaceous of the Ruyang Basin, Henan Province of central China." Journal of the Palaeontological Society of Korea, 25: 43-56.
2. Holtz, Thomas R., Jr.; Rey, Luis V. (2007). Dinosaurs (http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/dinoappendix/HoltzappendixWinter2011.pdf). New York: Random House. .
3. Book: Molina-Pérez & Larramendi. Récords y curiosidades de los dinosaurios Terópodos y otros dinosauromorfos. Larousse. 2016. Spain. 271.
4. Xu, L., Pan, Z.C., Wang, Z.H., Zhang, X.L., Jia, S.H., Lü, J.C., Jiang, B.L., 2012. Discovery and significance of the Cretaceous system in Ruyang Basin, Henan Province. Geological Review 58, 601-613.