In Depth
Shihtienfenia is one of the first pareiasaurs known from China, and one that raised a few eyebrows. Most known pareiasaurs have four sacral vertebrae (the vertebrae that are housed within the pelvis), but Shihtienfenia has six. Unfortunately the skull of Shihtienfenia is still unknown, so it is still uncertain what other differences may have been present. Shihtienfenia is named after the Shihtienfeng Formation where the first remains were discovered.
Further Reading
- On a new Pareiasaur from the Upper Permian of Shansi, China - C.-C. Young & H.-K. Yeh - 1963.- The Chinese pareiasaurs. – Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 177 (4): 813–853. – Michael J. Benton – 2016.- The first complete pareiasaur skull from China. – Acta Palaeontologica Sinica. 58 (2): 216–221. – Jun-you Wang, Jian Yi & Jun Liu – 2019.
