Yinlong
Name: Yinlong
(Hidden dragon).
Phonetic: Yin-long.
Named By: Xu Xing et al. - 2006.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Ornithischia, Marginocephalia, Ceratopsia.
Species: Y. downsi (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: 1.2 meters long.
Known locations: China, Xinjiang Province -
Shishugou Formation.
Time period: Oxfordian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Single skeleton that is very
well preserved.
A
very interesting find, Yinlong represents the
earliest identifiable
ceratopsian
dinosaur. Despite its small size and bipedal stance,
the descendants of Yinlong would evolve into the
huge quadrupedal
herbivores like Triceratops
that lived at the end
of the Cretaceous.
Study
of the skull has revealed a small rostral bone, or more commonly
called 'beak' that is indicative of the ceratopsian group.
Squamosal ornamentation of the skull is also seen in the
pachycephalosauria,
further suggesting that they and the ceratopsian
dinosaurs shared common direct ancestors. The skull also displays
heterodontosaurid features further suggesting that the Marginocephalia
are closely related to them.
While
the teeth of Yinlong are undoubtedly those of a
herbivore,
gastroliths were also found inside the skeleton roughly where the
stomach would have been. Not only would these mash swallowed plant
matter to release further nutrients, this practice would also be
carried down into successive generations and species.
Because
Yinlong was discovered in Xinjiang Province, it
was named 'Hidden
Dragon' in reference to the multi award winning film 'Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon' large portions of which were filmed in
Xinjiang. The species name is in remembrance to Will Downs, who was
a frequent participant to Chinese expeditions.
Further reading
- A basal ceratopsian with transitional features from the Late Jurassic
of northwestern China. - Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B
273:2135-2140. - X. Xu, C. A. Forster, J. M. Clark & J. Mo -
2006.
- Cranial anatomy of Yinlong downsi (Ornithischia: Ceratopsia) from the
Upper Jurassic Shishugou Formation of Xinjiang, China. - Journal of
Vertebrate Paleontology. - Feng-Lu Han, Catherine A. Forster, James A.
Clark & Xing Xu - 2015.
- Postcranial anatomy of Yinlong downsi
(Dinosauria: Ceratopsia) from
the Upper Jurassic Shishugou Formation of China and the phylogeny of
basal ornithischians. - Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. - Fenglu
Han, Catherine A. Forster, Xing Xu & James M. Clark - 2017.
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