Bashunosaurus is a genus of potentially macronarian sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Shaximiao Formation of Kaijiang, China. The type and only species is Bashunosaurus kaijiangensis.
| Bashunosaurus Temporal range: Middle Jurassic,
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria (?) |
| Genus: | †Bashunosaurus Kuang, 2004 |
| Species: | †B. kaijiangensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Bashunosaurus kaijiangensis Kuang, 2004[1]
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Discovery
editThe holotype of Bashunosaurus, KM 20100, was discovered in sediments of the lower Shaximiao Formation in Maanping, Sichuan Province, China. It consists of six cervical vertebrae, eight dorsal vertebrae, a partial left scapula, and a right humerus, ulna, ilium, femur, tibia, and fibula. An additional right ilium, specimen KM 20103, was assigned as a paratype.[2]
History
editThe name "Bashunosaurus kaijiangensis" first appeared in Ouyang's description of Abrosaurus in 1989,[3] although without a description or diagnosis, making it a nomen nudum (i.e. a nickname that is unavailable for use as an actual scientific name). Li et al. (1999), however, attribute the naming to "Kuang, 1996", still considering it a nomen nudum.[4] Although it was finally formally named by Kuang in 2004,[2] George Olshevsky's influential online Dinosaur Genera List continued to list it as a nomen nudum and possible synonym of Datousaurus.[5] It was largely ignored in modern literature until Dai et al.'s description of Yuzhoulong in 2022, where it is discussed.[6]
Description
editAs a sauropod, Bashunosaurus would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore with a robust body. Kuang (2004) estimated its length as about 10–12 m (32.8–39.4 ft).[2]
Classification
editThe precise classification of Bashunosaurus is unknown, with different authors proposing different ideas. Li et al. (1999) consider it a camarasaurid,[4] while Kuang (2004) gives a more precise position in the Camarasaurinae, more derived than Abrosaurus but more basal than Camarasaurus.[2] Molina-Perez and Larramendi (2020) list it as a primitive neosauropod similar to Bellusaurus, Daanosaurus, Dashanpusaurus and Klamelisaurus, although they comment that it is also "similar to Abrosaurus and Datousaurus".[7] Dai et al. (2022) compare the taxon to Yuzhoulong, noting the fact it was described as a macronarian, although they caution that a reappraisal is needed to confirm this in a cladistic context.[6][8]
References
edit- ^ Tracy Ford. "Untitled Document". Retrieved 21 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d Kuang, X.W. (2004). "A new Sauropoda from Kaijiang dinosaur fauna in middle Jurassic beds of North-Eastern Sichuan". In Sun, J.W. (ed.). Collection of the 90th anniversary of Tianjin museum of natural history. Tianjin: Tianjin Science and Technology Press. pp. 40–46.
- ^ Hui, O. (1989). "A new sauropod from Dashanpu, Zigong Co. Sichuan Province (Abrosaurus dongpoensis gen. et sp. nov.)" (PDF). Zigong Dinosaur Museum Newsletter. 2: 10–14.
- ^ a b Li K.; Zhang, Y.; Cai K. (1999). "The Characteristics of the Composition of the Trace Elements in Jurassic Dinosaur Bones and Red Beds in Sichuan Basin". Geological Publishing House.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ^ George Olshevsky (1995–2021). "Dinosaur Genera List". Archived from the original on 5 February 2022.
- ^ a b Dai H, Tan C, Xiong C, Ma Q, Li N, Yu H, Wei Z, Wang P, Yi J, Wei G, You H, Ren X (2022). "New macronarian from the Middle Jurassic of Chongqing, China: phylogenetic and biogeographic implications for neosauropod dinosaur evolution". Royal Society Open Science. 9 (11). 220794. Bibcode:2022RSOS....920794D. doi:10.1098/rsos.220794. PMC 9627447. PMID 36340515.
- ^ Molina-Perez & Larramendi (2020). Dinosaur Facts and Figures: The Sauropods and Other Sauropodomorphs. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 254. Bibcode:2020dffs.book.....M.
- ^ Ren XX, Jiang S, Wang XR, Peng GZ, Ye Y, Jia L, You HL (2022). "Re-examination of Dashanpusaurus dongi (Sauropoda: Macronaria) supports an early Middle Jurassic global distribution of neosauropod dinosaurs". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 610. 111318. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2022.111318.