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A New Troodontid Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China
Caizhi SHEN,
Junchang LÜ,
Sizhao LIU,
Martin KUNDRÁT,
Stephen L. BRUSATTE,
Hailong GAO,
Corresponding Author
Caizhi SHEN
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037 China
Dalian Natural History Museum, Dalian, Liaoning 116023 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJunchang LÜ
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037 China
Search for more papers by this authorSizhao LIU
Dalian Natural History Museum, Dalian, Liaoning 116023 China
Search for more papers by this authorMartin KUNDRÁT
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Košice, Slovak Republic
Search for more papers by this authorStephen L. BRUSATTE
University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences, Edinburgh EH4 2BH, UK
Search for more papers by this authorHailong GAO
Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037 China
Search for more papers by this authorCaizhi SHEN,
Junchang LÜ,
Sizhao LIU,
Martin KUNDRÁT,
Stephen L. BRUSATTE,
Hailong GAO,
Corresponding Author
Caizhi SHEN
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037 China
Dalian Natural History Museum, Dalian, Liaoning 116023 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorJunchang LÜ
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037 China
Search for more papers by this authorSizhao LIU
Dalian Natural History Museum, Dalian, Liaoning 116023 China
Search for more papers by this authorMartin KUNDRÁT
Department of Ecology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Faculty of Science, University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Košice, Slovak Republic
Search for more papers by this authorStephen L. BRUSATTE
University of Edinburgh, School of GeoSciences, Edinburgh EH4 2BH, UK
Search for more papers by this authorHailong GAO
Institute of Geomechanics, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing 100037 China
Search for more papers by this authorAbout the first author:
SHEN Caizhi, male, born in 1977; a Ph.D student at Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sicences; major in stratigraphy and palaeotoglogy;.
Email: [email protected]
Abstract
A new troodontid dinosaur, Daliansaurus liaoningensis gen. et sp. nov., is erected based on a nearly complete specimen from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Beipiao City, Liaoning Province, China. This well preserved skeleton provides important new details of the anatomy for Liaoning troodontids, and gives new insight into their phylogenetic relationships and evolution. Daliansaurus is distinguished from other troodontids by an enlarged ungual on pedal digit IV, which is approximately the same size as the sickle-shaped second ungual, and is differentiated from other Liaoning troodontids by a number of characters of the skull, manus, pelvis, and hindlimb. A phylogenetic analysis recovers Daliansaurus within a subclade of Liaoning troodontids that also includes Sinovenator, Sinusonasus, and Mei. We erect a name for this group—Sinovenatorinae—and argue that it reflects a localized radiation of small-bodied troodontids in the Early Cretaceous of eastern Asia, similar to previously recognized radiations of Liaoning dromaeosaurids and avialans. As more Liaoning theropods are discovered, it is becoming apparent that small, feathered paravians were particularly diverse during the Early Cretaceous, and future work is needed to clarify how this diversity arose, which species coexisted, and how these numerous species partitioned niches.
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