A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East Asia
Abstract A new dinosaur assemblage from the Lower Jurassic at Wande Town, Wuding County, Yunnan Province, China is discovered recently. Here a new sauropodomorph from this site, Wudingloong wui gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial skeleton. Wudingloong is different from other non...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12185-2 |
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| author | Ya-Ming Wang Qian-Nan Zhang Yan-Chao Wang Huan Xu Jianbo Chen Zhuo Feng Xing Xu Tao Wang Hai-Lu You |
| author_facet | Ya-Ming Wang Qian-Nan Zhang Yan-Chao Wang Huan Xu Jianbo Chen Zhuo Feng Xing Xu Tao Wang Hai-Lu You |
| author_sort | Ya-Ming Wang |
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| description | Abstract A new dinosaur assemblage from the Lower Jurassic at Wande Town, Wuding County, Yunnan Province, China is discovered recently. Here a new sauropodomorph from this site, Wudingloong wui gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial skeleton. Wudingloong is different from other non-sauropodiform sauropodomorphs particularly in having an ascending ramus of the maxilla excavated by triangular antorbital fossa, distinct ventral keel on the middle cervical centra, a slender humerus with a flat and low humeral head, a gracile metacarpal V with the proximal end as wide as the distal end, and a large and robust ungual of manual digit I. Wudingloong was excavated from the lowest Lower Jurassic Yubacun Formation, which is the lowest dinosaur bone bed in East Asia. Both the phylogenetic analysis and stratigraphic horizon indicate that Wudingloong represents the earliest-diverging and stratigraphically oldest sauropodomorph dinosaur discovered in East Asia so far. The discovery of this new taxon provides further evidence that the southwestern China sauropodomorph assemblage is one of the most taxonomically diverse and morphologically disparate in the pre-Toarcian Early Jurassic worldwide, represented by various taxa from near the base of the Massopoda to non-sauropodan sauropodiforms. |
| format | Article |
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| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-775f4356ab8043daa7a51729628d7e922025-08-20T03:42:38ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111010.1038/s41598-025-12185-2A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East AsiaYa-Ming Wang0Qian-Nan Zhang1Yan-Chao Wang2Huan Xu3Jianbo Chen4Zhuo Feng5Xing Xu6Tao Wang7Hai-Lu You8The Geological Museum of ChinaKey Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesKey Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesYunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan UniversityYunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan UniversityYunnan Key Laboratory of Earth System Science, Yunnan UniversityKey Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesCenter for Dinosaur Research and Protection, Bureau of Natural Resources of Lufeng CityKey Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of SciencesAbstract A new dinosaur assemblage from the Lower Jurassic at Wande Town, Wuding County, Yunnan Province, China is discovered recently. Here a new sauropodomorph from this site, Wudingloong wui gen. et sp. nov., is described on the basis of a partial skeleton. Wudingloong is different from other non-sauropodiform sauropodomorphs particularly in having an ascending ramus of the maxilla excavated by triangular antorbital fossa, distinct ventral keel on the middle cervical centra, a slender humerus with a flat and low humeral head, a gracile metacarpal V with the proximal end as wide as the distal end, and a large and robust ungual of manual digit I. Wudingloong was excavated from the lowest Lower Jurassic Yubacun Formation, which is the lowest dinosaur bone bed in East Asia. Both the phylogenetic analysis and stratigraphic horizon indicate that Wudingloong represents the earliest-diverging and stratigraphically oldest sauropodomorph dinosaur discovered in East Asia so far. The discovery of this new taxon provides further evidence that the southwestern China sauropodomorph assemblage is one of the most taxonomically diverse and morphologically disparate in the pre-Toarcian Early Jurassic worldwide, represented by various taxa from near the base of the Massopoda to non-sauropodan sauropodiforms.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12185-2 |
| spellingShingle | Ya-Ming Wang Qian-Nan Zhang Yan-Chao Wang Huan Xu Jianbo Chen Zhuo Feng Xing Xu Tao Wang Hai-Lu You A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East Asia Scientific Reports |
| title | A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East Asia |
| title_full | A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East Asia |
| title_fullStr | A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East Asia |
| title_full_unstemmed | A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East Asia |
| title_short | A new Early Jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest-diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of East Asia |
| title_sort | new early jurassic dinosaur represents the earliest diverging and oldest sauropodomorph of east asia |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-12185-2 |
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