Lufengosaurus

Name: Lufengosaurus ‭(‬Lufeng lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Lu-feng-sore-us.
Named By: C.-C.‭ ‬Young‭ ‬-‭ ‬1940.
Synonyms: Tawasaurus.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha,‭ ‬Massospondylidae.
Species: L.‭ ‬huenei‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬magnus.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: L.‭ ‬huenei about‭ ‬6‭ ‬meters long,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬magnus about‭ ‬9‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: China‭ ‬-‭ ‬Lufeng Formation.
Time period: Hettangian/Sinemurian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Remains of numerous individuals representing most parts of the skeleton.




       Lufengosaurus has the honour of being the first dinosaur to ever be assembled and mounted for display in China,‭ ‬and even today is one of the more popular exhibits in Chinese natural history displays concerning dinosaurs.‭ ‬The first species of Lufengosaurus,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬huenei,‭ ‬was named in‭ ‬1940,‭ ‬and a second larger species,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬magnus,‭ ‬was named in‭ ‬1947.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬magnus is often considered to be synonymous with L.‭ ‬huenei,‭ ‬though usually the two are cited as being separate.‭ ‬Lufengosaurus was more or less a typical sauropodomorph‭ (‬sometimes referred to as a prosauropod‭)‬,‭ ‬dinosaur,‭ ‬that was at least capable of a bipedal stance.‭ ‬The teeth of Lufengosaurus are notably sharp,‭ ‬though these are not necessarily an indication of a meat eating diet as such teeth are seen in some modern herbivorous lizards.
       Lufengosaurus has a confusing relationship with the genus Gyposaurus.‭ ‬In‭ ‬1976,‭ ‬Peter Galton considered the species G.‭ ‬sinensis to be a juvenile of Lufengosaurus,‭ ‬something which has led to Gyposaurus sometimes being declared to be a synonym However the type species of Gyposaurus,‭ ‬G.‭ ‬capensis,‭ ‬has already been popularly synonymised with Massospondylus.‭ ‬This means that technically only one species of Gyposaurus could be referred to Lufengosaurus,‭ ‬however,‭ ‬in‭ ‬2004,‭ ‬Galton and Upchurch considered G.‭ ‬sinensis to actually represent a valid species in its own right,‭ ‬though one that can no longer be called Gyposaurus.
       Remains of soft tissues, specifically collagen fibres associated with the ribs have been associated with Lufengosaurus remains. This is a rare glimpse at dinosaur soft tissues, though another example of an increasing number of soft tissue remains that are being found for dinosaurs.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Preliminary notes on the Lufeng vertebrate fossils.‭ ‬Bulletin of the Geological Society of China‭ ‬20‭(‬3-4‭)‬:235-239.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.-C.‭ ‬Young‭ ‬-‭ ‬1940.
-‭ ‬A complete osteology of Lufengosaurus huenei Young‭ (‬gen.‭ ‬et sp.‭ ‬nov.‭) ‬from Lufeng,‭ ‬Yunnan,‭ ‬China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontologia Sinica,‭ ‬New Series C‭ ‬7:‭ ‬1-59.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.‭ ‬-C.‭ ‬Young‭ ‬-‭ ‬1941.
-‭ ‬On Lufengosaurus magnus Young‭ (‬sp.‭ ‬nov.‭) ‬and additional finds of Lufengosaurus huenei Young.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Palaeontologia Sinica,‭ ‬New Series C‭ ‬12:‭ ‬1-53.‭ ‬-‭ ‬C.-C.‭ ‬Young‭ ‬-‭ ‬1947.
-‭ ‬Cranial osteology of Lufengosaurus huenei Young‭ (‬Dinosauria:‭ ‬Prosauropoda‭) ‬from the Lower Jurassic of Yunnan,‭ ‬People’s Republic of China.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology,‭ ‬25‭(‬4‭)‬:806-822.‭ ‬P.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Barrett,‭ ‬P.‭ ‬Upchurch‭ & ‬W.‭ ‬Xiao-lin‭ ‬-‭ ‬2005.
- Embryology of Early Jurassic dinosaur from China with evidence of preserved organic remains. - Nature. 496 (7444): 210–214. - Reisz, Robert R., Huang, Timothy D., Roberts, Eric M., Peng, ShinRung, Sullivan, Corwin, Stein, Koen, LeBlanc, Aaron R.H., Shieh, DarBin, Chang, RongSeng, Chiang, ChengCheng, Yang, Chuanwei, and Zhong, Shiming - 2013.
- Evidence of preserved collagen in an Early Jurassic sauropodomorph dinosaur revealed by synchrotron FTIR microspectroscopy. - Nature Communications. 8 (1): 14220. - Yao-Chang Lee, Cheng-Cheng Chiang, Pei-Yu Huang, Chao-Yu Chung, Timothy D. Huang, Chun-Chieh Wang, Ching-Iue Chen, Rong-Seng Chang, Cheng-Hao Liao & Robert R. Reisz - 2017.



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