Shantungosaurus

''Shantungosaurus'' (meaning "''Shandong Lizard''") is a genus of very large saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group Peninsula in China, containing a single species, ''Shantungosaurus giganteus''. The stratigraphic interval of ''Shantungosaurus'' ranges from the top of the Xingezhuang Formation to the middle of the Hongtuya Formation, middle to late Campanian in age. ''Shantungosaurus'' is so far the largest hadrosauroid taxon in the world, reaching between to in length and to in body mass.

History of discovery

First described in 1973, ''Shantungosaurus'' is known from over five incomplete skeletons. Chinese scientist Xing Xu and his colleagues indicate that ''Shantungosaurus'' is very similar to and shares many unique characters with ''Edmontosaurus'', forming a node of an ''Edmontosaurus''–''Shantungosaurus'' clade between North America and Asia, based on the new materials recovered in Shandong. Remains of several individuals, including skull bones, limb bones, and vertebrae, were found in Shandong, China. These specimens were classified in the new genus and species ''Zhuchengosaurus maximus'' in 2007. However, further study showed that the supposedly distinct features of ''Zhuchengosaurus'' were simply a result of different growth stages.Ji, Y., Wang, X., Liu, Y., and Ji, Q. (2011). "Systematics, behavior and living environment of ''Shantungosaurus giganteus'' (Dinosauria: Hadrosauridae)." ''Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition)'', 85(1): 58-65.

Description

''Shantungosaurus giganteus'' is one of the largest known ornithischians. The type skull is long, and the composite skeleton mounted at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing measures in length. Another mounted skeleton, originally referred to as ''Zhuchengosaurus maximus'', measures in length. The largest individuals may have weighed as much as . In 2016, Gregory S. Paul suggested that previous studies have overestimated the size of this dinosaur, moderating it at in length and in body mass, which still makes this dinosaur the largest hadrosaur. Like all hadrosaurs its beak was toothless, but its jaws were packed with around 1,500 tiny chewing teeth. A large hole near its nostrils may have been covered by a loose flap of skin, which could be inflated to make sounds.

Classification

Recent maximum parsimony-based phylogenetic analyses of Hadrosauroidea from Xing and colleagues recovered a stable sister group relationship between ''Edmontosaurus'' and ''Shantungosaurus''. ''Shantungosaurus'' is the single hadrosaurid from the Zhucheng area that is considered valid. ''Zhuchengosaurus'' and ''Huaxiaosaurus'', both of which are known from the same region, have been interpreted by the analyses as junior synonyms of ''Shantungosaurus''. All unequivocal morphological discrepancies among these three taxa could be attributed to intraspecific variation (ontogenetic and polymorphic variation) and post-depositional distortion.

The following cladogram is the result of Prieto-Márquez ''et al.'' in 2016. It shows the position of ''Shantungosaurus'' as sister group of ''Edmontosaurus'' in the Edmontosaurini clade:

See also

* Timeline of hadrosaur research

References

Sources

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{{Taxonbar, from=Q131158

Late Cretaceous dinosaurs of Asia
Saurolophines
Monotypic dinosaur genera
Fossil taxa described in 1973
Ornithischian genera