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'''Lufengosaurus''', (, meaning "Lufeng Lizard"), was a prosauropod dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now southwestern China. At about 6 metres long, it was the first complete dinosaur skeleton mounted in China and a commemorative postage stamp was issued in 1958.

Contents

Discovery and species

Classification

Palaeobiology

Popular Culture

References

External links

Discovery and species

Named by C.C. Young in 1941, remains of the type species, ''L. huenei'', were found in the Lower Lufeng Formation (Lower Jurassic) of Yunnan Province in China. A second species was named by Young a year later. ''L. magnus'' was, as its name suggests, a significantly (up to 1/3rd) larger creature than ''L. huenei''.
''Lufengosaurus'' species

★ ''L. huenei''

★ ''L. magnus''

Classification

In 1981, Cooper^[1] suggested ''Lufengosaurus'' and ''Yunnanosaurus'' were species of the South African genus ''Massospondylus''. However, a recent reanalysis^[2] of the skull of ''Lufengosaurus huenei'' establishes it as a distinct genus separate from either ''Massospondylus'' or ''Yunnanosaurus''.

Palaeobiology

Like all prosauropods, ''Lufengosaurus'' had much longer hindlimbs than forelimbs and was probably bipedal some of the time, especially when browsing for food. It was herbivorous, although it had sharp claws (with an especially large thumb claw) and teeth. These features have been used to support claims that ''Lufengosaurus'' may have been at least partially omnivorous, but the sharp teeth witnessed in ''Lufengosaurus'' and other prosauropods are similar to those seen in iguanaian lizards - which are herbivorous.^[3] Alternatively, the claws may have been used for defense or raking foliage from trees.

Popular Culture

''Lufengosaurus'' was the first dinosaur skeleton mounted in China. When the exhibit finally opened, a stamp was issued with an image of ''Lufengosaurus'' on it.

References

1. Cooper M.The prosauropod dinosaur ''Massospondylus carinatus'' Owen from Zimbabwe: its biology, mode of life and phylogenetic significance. Occasional Papers Of The National Museums and Monuments of Rhodesia Series B Natural Sciences 6(10); 689-840 (1981)
2. Barrett PM, Upchurch P, Xiao-lin W. Cranial osteology of ''Lufengosaurus huenei'' Young (Dinosauria: Prosauropoda) from the Lower Jurassic of Yunnan, People’s Republic of China. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 2005, 25(4):806-822

3. Barrett, P.M. (2000). Chapter 3: Prosauropod dinosaurs and iguanas: speculations on the diets of extinct reptiles. IN: ''Evolution of Herbivory in Terrestrial Vertebrates'' ISBN 0-521-59449-9


★ Dinosaurs from China, Dong Zhiming, , , China Ocean Press, Beijing & British Museum (Natural History), 1988, ISBN 0-565-01073-5

★ Dinosaurian Faunas of China, Dong Zhiming, , , China Ocean Press, Beijing, 1992, ISBN 3-540-52084-8

External links

★ Dinosaurian stamps

★ Prehistoric animals