Almost 20 years of work on a skull in excellent condition found in China led to the identification of the lishulong wangi a species of dinosaur from the Jurassic period. The specimen belongs to the group of sauropodomorphs, known for being large herbivorous dinosaurs.
In 2004, Chinese paleontologists found an extremely well-preserved dinosaur skull during an expedition to Yunnan. The team was amazed because the jaws, teeth and nostrils were united and solidified into a record 40 centimeters long. According to the report, this is the largest skull identified since excavations at the site began.
In a first review, and considering other remains found at the site, paleontologists were able to estimate the size of the dinosaur. They estimate that it reached a length of between 8 and 10 meters when it walked on Earth. The sediments covering the skull gave clues to its dating: the specimen lived during the Early Jurassic, approximately 200 million years ago.
The skull, along with nine vertebrae of the neck, was enough to propose the existence of lishulong wangi. Since no remains of the waist or limbs were found, there is no way to determine whether it was a quadruped or biped dinosaur. Although almost all sauropodomorphs were quadrupeds, their closest relative, the Yunnanosauruscould walk on four and two legs. The only notable difference between lishulong wangi and its cousin is the size of the nostrils. The latter had small nasal openings in comparison.
Although to the puzzle of L. Wangi It is missing multiple pieces, with those available it is possible to infer some key characteristics. For example, it is an adult specimen and its size was probably the maximum that its species could reach. Since sauropodomorphs were herbivores, this new dinosaur was also herbivorous. Based on dating and environmental estimates, it presumably ate gismnosperms and primitive plants such as ferns, cycads, ginkgos, and conifers.
The specimen was identified in the Lufeng Formation, southern China. Other sauropodomorph dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic have been found in this site of fossil remains. According to an article published in PeerJeight genera and ten species have been identified in the area. lishulong wangi It is a new taxon from a much larger family that lived in China.
Among the best-known sauropods are the Brachiosauruscharacterized by its long neck, the Diplodocus and the Patagotitan. They all share their large size. During the Early Jurassic, the climate on Earth was warm and humid, and dinosaurs dominated the fauna. Along with these creatures, the first mammals and flowering plants appeared.
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