Liaoningotitan
| Liaoningotitan Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Family: | †Euhelopodidae |
| Genus: | †Liaoningotitan Zhou et al., 2018 |
| Species: | †L. sinensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Liaoningotitan sinensis Zhou et al., 2018
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Liaoningotitan (meaning "Liaoning giant") is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China. A redescription of the holotype proposed affinities of Liaoningotitan with the Euhelopodidae.
Description
[edit]Liaoningotitan is a medium-sized sauropod, with an estimated body length of 10 metres (33 ft) and shoulder height of 2 metres (6.6 ft) based on comparisons with the closely related Euhelopus.[1] Distinguishing features of Liaoningotitan include a ventral margin of the maxilla that is convex, an upper tooth row that is short and anteriorly positioned; an anterior extension of the jugal that nearly reaches the level of the anterior margin of the antorbital fenestra; a basally constricted quadrate wing of the pterygoid; imbricated upper teeth, with narrow spatulate crowns that are D-shaped in cross section, and no labial grooves or denticles; nine reduced and un-imbricated lower teeth; asymmetric lower tooth crowns which are elliptical-like in cross section, with lingual grooves and ridges and a lingually bulbous basal crown; a proximal expansion of the humerus that is about 54.9% the length of the humerus; and an ilium with a pointed preacetabular process.[2]
Classification
[edit]Zhou et al. (2018) recovered Liaoningotitan as a somphospondylan titanosauriform more derived than Euhelopus.[2] In 2022, Mo et al. found Liaoningotitan to be an unstable taxon that may be closely related to Diamantinasaurus and Baotianmansaurus.[3] In a 2025 redescription of the holotype specimen, Bingqing Shan proposed that Liaoningotitan was a member of the Euhelopodidae, as the sister taxon to Yongjinglong. These results are displayed in the cladogram below:[1]
| Titanosauriformes |
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Paleoecology
[edit]Liaoningotitan is one of three titanosauriforms from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, the others being Dongbeititan and Ruixinia.[3] These forms co-existed with feathered dinosaurs in the Early Cretaceous lacustrine environment of present-day Liaoning.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ a b Shan, Bingqing (2025-03-11). "The re-description of Liaoningotitan sinensis Zhou et al., 2018". PeerJ. 13: 1–29. doi:10.7717/peerj.19154. ISSN 2167-8359.
- ^ a b c Zhou, C.-F.; Wu, W.-H.; Sekiya, T.; Dong, Z.-M. (2018). "A new Titanosauriformes dinosaur from Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, China". Global Geology. 37 (2): 327–333. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-5589.2018.02.001.
- ^ a b Mo, Jinyou; Ma, Feimin; Yu, Yilun; Xu, Xing (2022-12-09). "A new titanosauriform sauropod with an unusual tail from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern China". Cretaceous Research. 144: 105449. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105449. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 254524890.
