Ganzhousaurus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of dinosaurs}}

{{Automatic taxobox

| fossil_range = Late Cretaceous, {{fossil range|72|66}}

| image = Ganzhousaurus.jpg

| image_caption = Restoration

| taxon = Ganzhousaurus

| authority = Wang et al., 2013

| type_species = {{extinct}}Ganzhousaurus nankangensis

| type_species_authority = Wang et al., 2013

}}

Ganzhousaurus (meaning "Ganzhou lizard") is an extinct genus of oviraptorid dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Nankang County, Ganzhou City of Jiangxi Province, southern China. It was found in a Maastrichtian deposit and contains a single species, Ganzhousaurus nankangensis. It is distinguished by a combination of primitive and derived features.{{Cite journal | last1 = Wang | first1 = S. | last2 = Sun | first2 = C. | last3 = Sullivan | first3 = C. | last4 = Xu | first4 = X. | title = A new oviraptorid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern China | doi = 10.11646/zootaxa.3640.2.7 | journal = Zootaxa | volume = 3640 | issue = 2 | pages = 242–257 | year = 2013 | pmid = 26000415}}

Phylogeny

Phylogenetic analysis places Ganzhousaurus within Oviraptoridae. Within Oviraptoridae its phylogenetic position is more unstable, with one phylogenetic analysis recovering it as a member of the Oviraptorinae and another recovering it as a more derived member of the group, closely related to "ingeniines"{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0092022| title = A New Large-Bodied Oviraptorosaurian Theropod Dinosaur from the Latest Cretaceous of Western North America| journal = PLOS ONE| volume = 9| issue = 3| pages = e92022| year = 2014| last1 = Lamanna | first1 = M. C. | last2 = Sues | first2 = H. D. | last3 = Schachner | first3 = E. R. | last4 = Lyson | first4 = T. R. | pmid=24647078 | pmc=3960162| doi-access = free| bibcode = 2014PLoSO...992022L}} However, it also bears some similarities to the basal caenagnathid Gigantoraptor.

Paleobiology

Ganzhousaurus shared its habitat with at least four other oviraptorid species, Jiangxisaurus ganzhouensis, Nankangia jiangxiensis, Banji long, and an as-yet unnamed species. This diversity may have been made possible by niche partitioning, with Ganzhousaurus being primarily herbivorous.{{Cite journal | last1 = Lü | first1 = J. | last2 = Yi | first2 = L. | last3 = Zhong | first3 = H. | last4 = Wei | first4 = X. | editor1-last = Dodson| editor1-first = Peter| title = A New Oviraptorosaur (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Southern China and Its Paleoecological Implications | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0080557 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 8 | issue = 11 | pages = e80557 | year = 2013 | pmid = 24312233| pmc = 3842309| doi-access = free | bibcode = 2013PLoSO...880557L }}

See also

References