Gongbusaurus
Encyclopedia
Gongbusaurus is a genus
of ornithischia
n, perhaps ornithopod
, dinosaur
that lived between about 160 and 155 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic
period. A small herbivore
, it is very poorly known. Two species have been assigned to it, but as the original name is based on teeth, there is no concrete evidence to connect the two species. Its fossils have been found in China
.
ornithopods, was a herbivorous bipedal animal around 1.3 to 1.5 meters long (4.3 to 4.9 ft). The tibia
of "G." wucaiwanensis is 19.5 centimetres long. It would have been a strong runner.
, Zhou Shiwu, and Zhang Zicheng, who originally described the type species
G. shiyii, thought it was most similar to Fabrosaurus
and assigned it to the nebulous Fabrosauridae
. Upon description of the second species "G." wucaiwanensis several years later, Dong elected to assign it to Hypsilophodontidae, an equally-nebulous (paraphyletic) family of somewhat more derived
small bipedal ornithischia
ns, while at about the same time, David B. Weishampel and Larry Witmer found Gongbusaurus to be an indeterminate basal ornithischian. The most recent reviews also found the genus to be a dubious
ornithischian, and recommended renaming the better-known second species. Peter Galton
has noted that the teeth on which Gongbusaurus is based resemble those of Sarcolestes
and Gastonia
, so the genus may actually be an ankylosauria
n.
IVPP V9069
: one, V 9069-1, from the beak (premaxilla
), and the other, V 9069-2, from the cheek (maxilla
). These remains came from the Oxfordian
-age Upper Shaximiao Formation in Sichuan
, China and were found by a unit of the Chinese aerial survey behind an elementary school in the village of Huangtong, part of the Duxin commune, in Rongxian
or Rong County. The type species
Gongbusaurus shiyii was named and described by Dong, Zhou, and Zhang in 1983. The generic name is derived from the imperial ministry, bu, of public works, gong, in honour of the great poet Du Fu
who in Sichuan worked for that ministry after 760, in the rank of shi yi, "junior consultant", which explains the specific name. As shi yi also can mean "register of lost objects" the specific name is at the same time a pun on the fact that the teeth were later separately found among the assorted bones collected during the dig. Dong added a second species, "G." wucaiwanensis, in 1989 for a fragmentary skeleton (holotype IVPP 8302) including a partial lower jaw, three tail vertebrae, and a partial forelimb, and added another specimen (paratype
IVPP 8303) consisting of two hip vertebrae
, eight tail vertebrae, and two complete hind limbs. A partial foot (IVPP 8304) and four separate dorsal vertebrae and a caudal vertebra were referred. These remains came from the roughly contemporaneous Shishugou Formation
of Wucaiwan, Xinjiang
.
Tooth species are not well regarded in dinosaur paleontology, because dinosaur teeth are generally not distinctive enough to hold a name. Therefore, it is unsurprising that other paleontologists have suggested removing "G." wucaiwanensis. A possible replacement name, "Eugongbusaurus
", has accidentally gotten to the public, but remains informal
.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of ornithischia
Ornithischia
Ornithischia or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. The name ornithischia is derived from the Greek ornitheos meaning 'of a bird' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'...
n, perhaps ornithopod
Ornithopod
Ornithopods or members of the clade Ornithopoda are a group of ornithischian dinosaurs that started out as small, bipedal running grazers, and grew in size and numbers until they became one of the most successful groups of herbivores in the Cretaceous world, and dominated the North American...
, dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
that lived between about 160 and 155 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic
The Late Jurassic is the third epoch of the Jurassic Period, and it spans the geologic time from 161.2 ± 4.0 to 145.5 ± 4.0 million years ago , which is preserved in Upper Jurassic strata. In European lithostratigraphy, the name "Malm" indicates rocks of Late Jurassic age...
period. A small herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
, it is very poorly known. Two species have been assigned to it, but as the original name is based on teeth, there is no concrete evidence to connect the two species. Its fossils have been found in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Description
Gongbusaurus, by extrapolation from the remains of possible species "G." wucaiwanensis and other basalBasal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
ornithopods, was a herbivorous bipedal animal around 1.3 to 1.5 meters long (4.3 to 4.9 ft). The tibia
Tibia
The tibia , shinbone, or shankbone is the larger and stronger of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates , and connects the knee with the ankle bones....
of "G." wucaiwanensis is 19.5 centimetres long. It would have been a strong runner.
Classification
Dong ZhimingDong Zhiming
Dong Zhiming , from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology in Beijing, is one of China's leading paleontologists. He began working at the IVPP in 1962, learning from Yang Zhongjian who was director at the time...
, Zhou Shiwu, and Zhang Zicheng, who originally described the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
G. shiyii, thought it was most similar to Fabrosaurus
Fabrosaurus
Fabrosaurus ) was a genus of herbivorous dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic . As the only fossil known of it is a partial jawbone with three teeth, Fabrosaurus is a nomen dubium and may in fact be the same as Lesothosaurus.Fabrosaurus was around 1 meter long...
and assigned it to the nebulous Fabrosauridae
Fabrosauridae
The Fabrosauridae was originally proposed by Galton , as a group of basal ornithischian dinosaurs from the Early to Middle Jurassic. However, recent studies indicate the Fabrosaurs are not a natural grouping of dinosaurs, and instead consist of unrelated genera.The proposed "Fabrosaurs" descended...
. Upon description of the second species "G." wucaiwanensis several years later, Dong elected to assign it to Hypsilophodontidae, an equally-nebulous (paraphyletic) family of somewhat more derived
Derived
In phylogenetics, a derived trait is a trait that is present in an organism, but was absent in the last common ancestor of the group being considered. This may also refer to structures that are not present in an organism, but were present in its ancestors, i.e. traits that have undergone secondary...
small bipedal ornithischia
Ornithischia
Ornithischia or Predentata is an extinct order of beaked, herbivorous dinosaurs. The name ornithischia is derived from the Greek ornitheos meaning 'of a bird' and ischion meaning 'hip joint'...
ns, while at about the same time, David B. Weishampel and Larry Witmer found Gongbusaurus to be an indeterminate basal ornithischian. The most recent reviews also found the genus to be a dubious
Nomen dubium
In zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application...
ornithischian, and recommended renaming the better-known second species. Peter Galton
Peter Galton
Peter M. Galton is a British vertebrate paleontologist working in America, who has to date written or co-written about a hundred papers in scientific journals or chapters in paleontology textbooks, especially on ornithischian and prosauropod dinosaurs.With Robert Bakker in a joint article...
has noted that the teeth on which Gongbusaurus is based resemble those of Sarcolestes
Sarcolestes
Sarcolestes is a genus of early ankylosaurian dinosaur from Middle Jurassic England, Callovian, around 163 million years ago. The type species, Sarcolestes leedsi, was described by Richard Lydekker in 1893, but is based on very fragmentary material, holotype BMNH R2682, consisting of a single left...
and Gastonia
Gastonia
Gastonia may refer to:Places:*Gastonia, North Carolina, United StatesIn biology:*Gastonia , a genus in the ivy or ginseng family*Gastonia , a genus of ankylosaur...
, so the genus may actually be an ankylosauria
Ankylosauria
Ankylosauria is a group of herbivorous dinosaurs of the order Ornithischia. It includes the great majority of dinosaurs with armor in the form of bony osteoderms. Ankylosaurs were bulky quadrupeds, with short, powerful limbs. They are first known to have appeared in the early Jurassic Period of...
n.
History
Dong and his coauthors established Gongbusaurus on two small teeth, holotypeHolotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
IVPP V9069
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology
The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of China is a prominent research institution and collections repository for fossils, including many dinosaur and pterosaurand cat poo specimens...
: one, V 9069-1, from the beak (premaxilla
Premaxilla
The incisive bone is the portion of the maxilla adjacent to the incisors. It is a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the jaws of many animals, usually bearing teeth, but not always. They are connected to the maxilla and the nasals....
), and the other, V 9069-2, from the cheek (maxilla
Maxilla
The maxilla is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper jaw. This is similar to the mandible , which is also a fusion of two halves at the mental symphysis. Sometimes The maxilla (plural: maxillae) is a fusion of two bones along the palatal fissure that form the upper...
). These remains came from the Oxfordian
Oxfordian stage
The Oxfordian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the earliest age of the Late Jurassic epoch, or the lowest stage of the Upper Jurassic series. It spans the time between 161.2 ± 4 Ma and 155.7 ± 4 Ma...
-age Upper Shaximiao Formation in Sichuan
Sichuan
' , known formerly in the West by its postal map spellings of Szechwan or Szechuan is a province in Southwest China with its capital in Chengdu...
, China and were found by a unit of the Chinese aerial survey behind an elementary school in the village of Huangtong, part of the Duxin commune, in Rongxian
Rong County, Sichuan
Rongxian County is a county of Sichuan Province, China. It is under the administration of Zigong city.-Geography:The county has a total area of 1,609 km².-Population:As of 2008, the county had a population of 700,000....
or Rong County. The type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
Gongbusaurus shiyii was named and described by Dong, Zhou, and Zhang in 1983. The generic name is derived from the imperial ministry, bu, of public works, gong, in honour of the great poet Du Fu
Du Fu
Du Fu was a prominent Chinese poet of the Tang Dynasty.Along with Li Bai , he is frequently called the greatest of the Chinese poets. His greatest ambition was to serve his country as a successful civil servant, but he proved unable to make the necessary accommodations...
who in Sichuan worked for that ministry after 760, in the rank of shi yi, "junior consultant", which explains the specific name. As shi yi also can mean "register of lost objects" the specific name is at the same time a pun on the fact that the teeth were later separately found among the assorted bones collected during the dig. Dong added a second species, "G." wucaiwanensis, in 1989 for a fragmentary skeleton (holotype IVPP 8302) including a partial lower jaw, three tail vertebrae, and a partial forelimb, and added another specimen (paratype
Paratype
Paratype is a technical term used in the scientific naming of species and other taxa of organisms. The exact meaning of the term paratype when it is used in zoology is not the same as the meaning when it is used in botany...
IVPP 8303) consisting of two hip vertebrae
Sacrum
In vertebrate anatomy the sacrum is a large, triangular bone at the base of the spine and at the upper and back part of the pelvic cavity, where it is inserted like a wedge between the two hip bones. Its upper part connects with the last lumbar vertebra, and bottom part with the coccyx...
, eight tail vertebrae, and two complete hind limbs. A partial foot (IVPP 8304) and four separate dorsal vertebrae and a caudal vertebra were referred. These remains came from the roughly contemporaneous Shishugou Formation
Shishugou Formation
The Shishugou Formation is a geological formation in Xinjiang, China, whose strata date back to the Late Jurassic period. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation....
of Wucaiwan, Xinjiang
Xinjiang
Xinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
.
Tooth species are not well regarded in dinosaur paleontology, because dinosaur teeth are generally not distinctive enough to hold a name. Therefore, it is unsurprising that other paleontologists have suggested removing "G." wucaiwanensis. A possible replacement name, "Eugongbusaurus
Eugongbusaurus
"Eugongbusaurus" is the informal name given to a genus of dinosaur that lived about 160 to 155 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic. It was either a hypsilophodont, or a less-derived ornithischian...
", has accidentally gotten to the public, but remains informal
Nomen nudum
The phrase nomen nudum is a Latin term, meaning "naked name", used in taxonomy...
.
External links
- Ornithischia (scroll to Ornithischia to Genasauria i.s.)