Yuanyanglong
| Yuanyanglong Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
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| Speculative life restoration | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | Theropoda |
| Clade: | †Oviraptorosauria |
| Genus: | †Yuanyanglong Hao et al., 2024 |
| Species: | †Y. bainian
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| Binomial name | |
| †Yuanyanglong bainian Hao et al., 2024
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Yuanyanglong (meaning "lovebird dragon") is an extinct genus of oviraptorosaurian theropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Miaogou Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Yuanyanglong bainian, known from two partial skeletons.[1]
Discovery and naming
The Yuanyanglong fossil material, was discovered in 2021 in sediments of the Miaogou Formation (Maortu locality) in the Gobi Desert of Chilantai, Inner Mongolia, China. Two incomplete skeletons were found in association on the same block, which are assumed to represent the same species based on comparable anatomy and body size. The holotype specimen, PV02476-1, consists of the pelvic girdle, the right hindlimb missing the foot, the pectoral girdle, the right forelimb missing the hand, several ribs, and dorsal and caudal vertebrae. The associated referred specimen, PV02476-2, includes an incomplete poorly-preserved skull, partial hindlimb without the foot, incomplete pelvis, several dorsal vertebrae, and a partial sacrum.[1]
In 2024, Hao et al. described Yuanyanglong bainian as a new genus and species of early oviraptorosaurs based on these fossil remains. The generic name, Yuanyanglong, combines yuanyang (鴛鴦), the Mandarin word for "lovebirds" (the mandarin duck), a species symbolic of mating for life with the Chinese word long, meaning "dragon". This name refers to the two discovered associated individuals. The specific name, bainian (百年), is a Chinese word meaning "a hundred years", commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first named oviraptorosaur taxa, Chirostenotes and Oviraptor, in March 1924 and November 1924, respectively.[1][2][3]
Yuanyanglong represents the first Early Cretaceous oviraptorosaur to be named from the Gobi Desert region, with other Gobi relatives coming from Late Cretaceous outcrops.[1]
Classification
In their phylogenetic analyses, Hao et al. (2024) recovered Yuanyanglong as a basal member of the Oviraptorosauria, diverging after the Caudipteridae as the sister taxon to the Edentoraptora (Avimimidae [Avimimus spp.] + Caenagnathoidea). Their results are displayed in the cladogram below:[1]
| Oviraptorosauria |
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See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Hao, Mingze; Li, Zhiyu; Wang, Zhili; Wang, Shuqiong; Ma, Feimin; Qinggele; King, J. Logan; Pei, Rui; Zhao, Qi; Xu, Xing (2024-10-24). "A new oviraptorosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Miaogou Formation of western Inner Mongolia, China". Cretaceous Research (in press): 106023. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.106023.
- ^ Gilmore, C.W. (1924). "A new coelurid dinosaur from the Belly River Cretaceous of Alberta". Canada Department of Mines Geological Survey Bulletin (Geological Series). 38 (43): 1–12.
- ^ Osborn, H. F. (1924). "Three new Theropoda, Protoceratops zone, central Mongolia". American Museum Novitates (144): 1−12. hdl:2246/3223. OCLC 40272928.
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