Qinlingosaurus

Kwin-ling-o-sor-us.
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Maeve Foster

Paleoclimatologist

Maeve Foster explores the Earth's climatic past to understand the forces that shaped life on our planet. Her research into ancient climate events provides valuable context for current environmental challenges.

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Name

Qinlingosaurus ‭(‬Qinling lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Kwin-ling-o-sor-us.

Named By

X.‭ ‬Xue,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Bi,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Yue‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬Chen‭ ‬-‭ ‬1996.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

Q.‭ ‬luonanensis‭

Size

Ilium‭ ‬77‭ ‬centimetres long.‭ ‬Total body length uncertain.

Known locations

China,‭ ‬Shaanxi Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Hongtuling Formation.

Time Period

Maastrichtian‭? ‬of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Ilium,‭ ‬Ischium and three vertebrae.

In Depth

       Qinlingosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in China during the late Cretaceous.‭ ‬Very little is known for certain about Qinlingosaurus because at the time of writing this dinosaur is only known from a few vertebrae and a couple of hip bones.‭ ‬However,‭ ‬given that these fossils have been recovered from a deposit that was late Cretaceous in age,‭ ‬it is probable that Qinlingosaurus was a titanosaur,‭ ‬a type of sauropod dinosaur common in the Cretaceous when the earlier sauropod forms had largely disappeared.‭

       Qinlingosaurus is named after the Qinling Mountain range.

Further Reading

-‭ [‬The Development and Environmental Changes of the Intermontane Basins in the Eastern Part of Qinling Mountains‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Geological Publishing House,‭ ‬Beijing,‭ ‬p181.‭ ‬-‭ ‬X.‭ ‬Xue,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Zhang,‭ ‬Y.‭ ‬Bi,‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Yue‭ & ‬D.‭ ‬Chen‭ ‬-‭ ‬1996.

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