A new genus and species of ankylosaurid dinosaur has been identified from the fossilized material found at Kangdailiang Mountain (1,262 m above sea level) in China.
Two ankylosaurs. Image credit: Stuart Pond.
Tianzhenosaurus chengi roamed our planet during the Late Cretaceous epoch, between 84 and 72 million years ago.
The ancient species was a type of ankylosaur, a group of quadrupedal armored dinosaurs that existed from the Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous.
These fascinating creatures are known for their heavy armor, which consisted of bony plates called osteoderms.
These plates covered their backs and sides, providing protection against predators.
Many ankylosaur species, including Tianzhenosaurus chengi, had a large, bony club at the end of their tails. This club could be used as a powerful weapon against predators.
The fossilized remains of the new species were found in the Upper Cretaceous second member of the Huiquanpu Formation in the Chinese province of Shanxi.
“The skull of the new species was low and flat, the skull roof was covered with irregular bony plates, occipital was round and slightly exceeded the skull roof, a dermal bony projection of the posterior side was short, small, flat,” said Dr. Qiqing Pang and colleagues from the Hebei GEO University.
“These characters of the skull are clearly different from Tianchisaurus from the Middle Jurassic of Xinjiang, China, Shamosaurus from the Early Creteceous of Mongolia, Ankylosaurus from the Late Jurassic and the Late Cretaceous Euoplocephalus from North America, as well as Pinacosaurus from the Late Cretaceous of China and Mongolia.”
Tianzhenosaurus chengi was found at the same locality as Tianzhenosaurus youngi, the only other known species of the genus Tianzhenosaurus.
“The discovery of the new species not only provides rare ankylosaurid fossils from China, but is also significant in studying the taxonomy, migration, evolution of ankylosaurs as well as the paleobiogeography of the Cretaceous dinosaur faunas,” the paleontologists said.
Their paper was published in the Journal of Hebei GEO University.
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Qiqing Pang et al. 2024. A New Species of Ankylosaurian Dinosaur — Tianzhenosaurus chengi sp. nov., from the Late Cretaceous of Tianzhen County, Shanxi Province, China. Journal of Hebei GEO University 6; doi: 10.13937/j.cnki.hbdzdxxb.2024.06.006