[dinosaur] Xunmenglong, new compsognathid theropod from Lower Cretaceous of China

Ben Creisler
[email protected]


A new paper:


Xunmenglong yinliangis gen. et sp. nov.

Lida Xing, Tetsuto Miyashita, Donghao Wang, Kechung Niud & Philip J.Currie
(2019)
A new compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the oldest assemblage of the
Jehol Biota in the Lower Cretaceous Huajiying Formation, northeastern China.
Cretaceous Research (adavance online  publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.cretres.2019.104285&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=5nLvM6q-t5026idTNfrVk6iAPflqcc6HHtWk45dX6hA&s=L8dy4mmQeYbWa0pkS5de0mT8WM3iwhXtWnYRa5btHD8&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_pii_S0195667119302381&d=DwIBaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=5nLvM6q-t5026idTNfrVk6iAPflqcc6HHtWk45dX6hA&s=xYhM20BWmkg12NPZhPURlgHlIZYvO1l9EGzio2Osn1g&e= 


Compsognathids -- long regarded as an assemblage of 'prototypical' small
theropods including the historically significant Compsognathus and
Sinosauropteryx -- have patchy distributions. The majority of definitive
members of the clade come from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Archipelago and
the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation. Chronologically falling between
these two major compsognathid localities, a new compsognathid described in
this paper, Xunmenglong yinliangis gen. et sp. nov, occurs in the Huajiyin
Formation of northeastern China. Xunmenglong is distinguished from other
compsognathids by one autapomorphy (pedal phalanx IV-4 longer than IV-3)
and a unique combination of postcranial traits, including the
disproportionately long lower legs. Nested among the Jehol and Solnhofen
compsognathids in a phylogenetic analysis, Xunmenglong is an intriguing
addition to the known range and diversity of the clade. The taxon is
stratigraphically the lowest among Asian compsognathids, and its holotype
specimen is the smallest among compsognathids (unless Scipionyx is treated
as a compsognathid). Questions remain about habitat preferences and
diversification patterns of compsognathids, but Xunmenglong offers two
broader implications. (1) As previously proposed on the basis of the
diverse enanthiornithine assemblage, the Huajiying Formation may preserve
the oldest fauna of the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota, which is distinct
from the Late Jurassic Daohugou Biota and includes the Yixian Formation
from which other Asian compsognathids were discovered. (2) Xunmenglong
provides a useful calibration point with which to reconstruct
biogeographic/stratigraphic patterns and to estimate allometric trends in
the clade.

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