China has unveiled a new species of early Jurassic dinosaur, with a somewhat well-preserved fossil of it discovered in southwest China's Yunnan province, the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) announced recently.
Named Lishulong wangi, the fossil represents one of the largest known early sauropods from the region.
The well-preserved specimen, which includes an intact skull and nine cervical vertebrae, was unearthed in 2007 in the Chuanjie Basin of Yunnan's Lufeng City.
"(The fossil) was discovered in the back hills of Dalishu Village, and, after years of studies, named Lishulong wangi. The name is to commemorate a man named 'Wang Zhengju' who discovered Lufengpithecus fossils. So, the newly discovered fossil has been named after Mr. Wang Zhengju," said Wang Tao, director of Dinosaur Fossil Conservation and Research Center under Lufeng's Department of Natural Resources.
Scientists from the IVPP have classified Lishulong wangi as an early-branching sauropodomorph, closely related to Yunnanosaurus.
The skull alone measures about 40 centimeters in length, making it the largest of its kind found in the Lufeng Formation.
This discovery increased the diversity of dinosaurs in southwest China, and improved the understanding of the evolution of early differentiated sauropods.
"Its skull and cervical spine are better preserved. It would have been about eight meters long when it was alive," Wang said.
The fossil is now on public display at an exhibition hall in the Lufeng Dinosaur Valley.
Chinese scientists discover new early Jurassic dinosaur species in southwest China's Yunnan
