''Dalinghosaurus'' (often incorrectly spelled "Dalinghesaurus") is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

of lizards, first described in 1998 by S.A. Ji of the Peking University Department of Geology. The

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

is ''Dalinghosaurus longidigitus''.Ji, S.A. (1998). "A new long−tailed lizard from the Upper Jurassic of Liaoning, China". In: Department of Geology, Peking University (ed.), ''Collected Works of International Symposium on Geological Science, Peking University, Beijing, China'', pp 496–505. Seismological Press, Beijing. It is known from the Early Cretaceous (

Aptian The Aptian is an age in the geologic timescale or a stage in the stratigraphic column. It is a subdivision of the Early or Lower Cretaceous Epoch or Series and encompasses the time from 121.4 ± 1.0 Ma to 113.0 ± 1.0 Ma (million years ago), a ...

) aged

Yixian Formation The Yixian Formation (; formerly transcribed as Yihsien Formation) is a geological formation in Jinzhou, Liaoning, People's Republic of China, that spans the late Barremian and early Aptian stages of the Early Cretaceous. It is known for its ex ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, China.

Description

''Dalinghosaurus'' had extremely long tails and hindlimbs relative to its forelimbs. The claws are relatively slender. Eleven specimens of ''Dalinghosaurus'' are held by the IVPP in Beijing. One fossil skeleton contains the skeletons of ten or more juveniles. A possible specimen of ''Dalinghosaurus'' has been found in the gut region of a ''

Sinosauropteryx ''Sinosauropteryx'' (meaning "Chinese reptilian wing", ) is a compsognathid dinosaur. Described in 1996, it was the first dinosaur taxon outside of Avialae (birds and their immediate relatives) to be found with evidence of feathers. It was covere ...

''.

Classification

Although it lived during the Early Cretaceous, A 2005 study found that ''Dalinghosaurus'' was related to several modern-day lizards in the family

Xenosauridae Xenosauridae is a family of anguimorph lizards whose only living representative is the genus '' Xenosaurus'', which is native to Central America. Xenosauridae also includes the extinct genera '' Exostinus'' and '' Restes''. Also known as knob-scal ...

, the knob-scaled lizards. Its relatives include the modern

Chinese crocodile lizard The Chinese crocodile lizard (''Shinisaurus crocodilurus'') is a semiaquatic anguimorph lizard found only in cool forests in southeast China and northeast Vietnam. The Chinese crocodile lizard spends much of its time in shallow water or in overha ...

(''Shinisaurus'') of southern China, the extinct '' Exostinus'' of Montana and Wyoming, and the extinct ''

Carusia ''Carusia'' is an extinct genus of lizards from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. It is a close relative of the family Xenosauridae, which includes living knob-scaled lizards. Fossils of the type and only species ''Carusia intermedia'' come from ...

'' of Mongolia. It is differentiated from ''Carusia'' by having fewer, more conical shaped teeth. Differences in skull and mandible shape separate it from ''Shinisaurus''.Evans, S.E. and Wang, Y. (2005).
The Early Cretaceous lizard ''Dalinghosaurus'' from China
. ''Acta Palaeontologica Polonica'' 50 (4): 725–742.

Paleobiology

The long legs of ''Dalinghosaurus'' indicate that it was a proficient runner across open environments, potentially capable of bipedal locomotion. However, it may also have been capable of

arboreal locomotion Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose num ...

References

Cretaceous lizards Early Cretaceous reptiles of Asia Fossil taxa described in 1998 {{cretaceous-reptile-stub