The skull of a new species of sauropodomorph dinosaur, known as Lishulun Wangyi, was found in the Lufeng Dinosaur National Geopark, located in southern China's Yunnan Province (Image credit: Qian-Nan Zhang et al/PeerJ, 2024)
A huge, exceptionally well-preserved dinosaur skull found in China belongs to a previously undescribed species, researchers say.
An early ancestor of sauropods was discovered in 2007 in the Lufeng Dinosaur National Geopark in southern China's Yunnan Province. Scientists estimate that it was an impressive size, about 10 meters (33 feet) long.
The new species, named Lishulong wangi, belongs to a group known as sauropodomorphs, which includes sauropods such as Brontosaurus and Diplodocus and their ancestors.
The study, published December 12, 2024, in the journal PeerJ, claims that the deposits in which the skull was found date back to the early Jurassic Hettangian period (201.3–199.3 million years ago).
The study authors suggest that L. wangi is likely the largest non-sauropodomorph sauropodomorph found in the Lufeng Formation. This formation was particularly rich in early sauropodomorphs, with seven other genera also found there.
The region’s fine-grained sediments helped preserve the remains so well, lead author Qian-Nan Zhang, a paleontologist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, told Live Science. Clay, sand, and silt deposited by the lakes and rivers that shaped the landscape protected the dinosaurs from erosion. Minerals from the sediment then infiltrated the bone structure, facilitating fossilization.
These conditions probably explain the excellent preservation of the skull, which is unusual for sauropodomorphs. Although it was under pressure from sediments deposited on top, only a small portion of the cranial bones were lost.
The excellent preservation of the skull is rare for sauropodomorphs, and scientists believe the remains were moved after death because other bones are missing.
Non-sauropod sauropodomorphs were the most common medium to large herbivorous dinosaurs until the Middle Jurassic (174.1 to 163.5 million years ago). Unlike the lumbering hippos that replaced them, they could move exclusively on
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