Qiaowanlong is a genus

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 sauropod 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...

. Fossil

Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...

s belonging to the genus were found in 2007 from the Yujinzi Basin of Gansu

Gansu

' is a province located in the northwest of the People's Republic of China.It lies between the Tibetan and Huangtu plateaus, and borders Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Ningxia to the north, Xinjiang and Qinghai to the west, Sichuan to the south, and Shaanxi to the east...

, 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...

, and were described in 2009 in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B

Proceedings of the Royal Society

Proceedings of the Royal Society is the parent title of two scientific journals published by the Royal Society, whereas its initial journal, Philosophical Transactions, is now devoted to special thematic issues...

. The remains come from a geological formation called the Xinminpu Group, dating to the Early Cretaceous

Early Cretaceous

The Early Cretaceous or the Lower Cretaceous , is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous...

 (Albian

Albian

The Albian is both an age of the geologic timescale and a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is the youngest or uppermost subdivision of the Early/Lower Cretaceous epoch/series. Its approximate time range is 112.0 ± 1.0 Ma to 99.6 ± 0.9 Ma...

 stage) about 100 Ma. The only known specimen consists of articulated cervical (neck) vertebrae and a right pelvic girdle

Pelvis

In human anatomy, the pelvis is the lower part of the trunk, between the abdomen and the lower limbs .The pelvis includes several structures:...

, as well as several unidentified bone fragments. Qiaowanlong was initially reported as the first brachiosaurid to have been found from China. However, later analysis found that it was more closely related to titanosauriformes like Euhelopus

Euhelopus

Euhelopus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous, between 130 and 112 million years ago . It lived in what is now Shandong Province in China. A large herbivore, it weighed approximately 15-20 tons and attained an adult length of 15m...

and Erketu

Erketu

Erketu is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. It was a sauropod with an "extremely long neck". Its fossils were found in Mongolia....

. It is estimated to have had a length of around 12 m (40 ft) and would have weighed around 10 tonnes. 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...

is Q. kangxii.

External links

• Bifid Brachiosaurs, Batman! and
• More on Qiaowanlong already, blog posts at Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week concerning Qiaowanlong