Xinjiangtitan
Temporal range: Middle Jurassic,
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Family: †Mamenchisauridae
Genus: †Xinjiangtitan
Wu et al., 2013
Type species
†Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis
Wu et al., 2013

Xinjiangtitan (Chinese: 新疆巨龙; pinyin: Xīnjiāngjùlóng) is an extinct genus of mamenchisaurid sauropod that lived during the Middle Jurassic of what is now Xinjiang, northwestern China. Its type and only species is Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis (Chinese: 鄯善新疆巨龙; pinyin: Shànshàn Xīnjiāngjùlóng), known from a single incomplete skeleton recovered from the Qiketai Formation. The holotype preserves one of the most complete vertebral columns of any sauropod found in Asia, and has the longest complete neck known for any animal.

Discovery

The type specimen of Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis was discovered by a joint expedition of Jilin University, Shenyang Normal University, and Xinjiang Geological Survey Institutute in 2012, from a quarry 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) south of Qiketai, Xinjiang. In 2013, before the specimen had been fully excavated, Wu Wen-hao, Zhou Chang-fu, Oliver Wings, Toru Sekiha and Dong Zhiming described it as a new genus and species, Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis. The generic name is derived from Xinjiang, and from titan, giant in Greek mythology. The specific name, shanshanesis, is derived from an alternative name for the county where it was found, Shanshan, named after the ancient Shanshan Kingdom. The specific name is occasionally misspelled as "shanshanensis" or "shashaensis", which are invalid spellings even though the correct form would indeed have been "shanshanensis" rather than shanshanesis, as the Latin suffix "-ensis" meaning "from", was used to create the name. Continued excavation of the type specimen revealed that the neck and tail were nearly complete.[1]

Fossils

Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis is known from a single specimen, the holotype SSV12001, which consists of a nearly complete vertebral column preserved in articulation, as well as a partial skull, partial pelvis, and most of the left hind limb.[1] The neck, of which all 18 vertebrae are present, is nearly 15 meters long and is the longest complete neck ever discovered of any animal.[2] The vertebral column is overall among the most complete of any sauropod specimen from Asia.[1] The cervical[1] and dorsal vertebrae[3] have been described in detail. The specimen was originally reported as being from the Qigu Formation (Late Jurassic), but it was subsequently considered to be from the Qiketai Formation (Middle Jurassic).[4]

Description

Xinjiangtitan was one of the longest known sauropods, with a long neck measuring at least 14.9 m (49 ft) in length.[1] It is estimated to have measured 27–32 metres (89–105 ft) in total body length, 25–40 metric tons (28–44 short tons) in body mass and 17 metres (56 ft) in height.[5][6][7] Xinjiangtitan was diagnosed based on the following traits: the presence of a ventral keel on the penultimate cervical centrum that forms a small semicircular process under the distal articular facet; both cervical vertebrae are relatively elongated; the sacricostal yoke except the first sacral rib; and an extremely robust femur. The series of dorsal vertebrae has a length of 3.72 m (12.2 ft). The thighbone is 1.65 m (5.4 ft) long, and the tibia is 0.98 m (3.2 ft) long.[5]


Phylogeny

Among sauropods, a phylogenetic analysis places Xinjiangtitan as the sister taxon of Mamenchisaurus, the only other mamenchisaurid included. Xinjiangtitan shares several derived characters with diplodocids, including prominent ambiens process of pubis, relatively short hind limb and fourth trochanter on the femur that is caudomedially developed.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Zhang, Xiao-Qin; Li, Da-Qing; Xie, Yan; You, Hai-Lu (2020). "Redescription of the cervical vertebrae of the Mamenchisaurid Sauropod Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis Wu et al. 2013". Historical Biology. 32 (6): 803–822. doi:10.1080/08912963.2018.1539970. S2CID 91680936.
  2. ↑ Wedel, Matt (2021-01-28). "Xinjiangtitan has the longest preserved neck of any lifeform to date". Sauropod Vertebra Picture of the Week. Archived from the original on 2021-03-02.
  3. ↑ Zhang, Xiao-Qin; Li, Ning; Xie, Yan; Li, Da-Qing; You, Hai-Lu (2022-12-08). "Redescription of the dorsal vertebrae of the mamenchisaurid sauropod Xinjiangtitan shanshanesis Wu et al. 2013". Historical Biology: 1–27. doi:10.1080/08912963.2022.2147428. eISSN 1029-2381. ISSN 0891-2963. S2CID 254532485.
  4. ↑ Maisch, Michael W.; Matzke, Andreas T. (2019-01-01). "First record of a eusauropod (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Jurassic Qigu-Formation (southern Junggar Basin, China), and a reconsideration of Late Jurassic sauropod diversity in Xinjiang". Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen. 291 (1): 109–117. doi:10.1127/njgpa/2019/0792. ISSN 0077-7749. S2CID 135213577.
  5. 1 2 3 Wu, Wen-hao; Zhou, Chang-Fu; Wings, Oliver; Toru, Sekiya; Dong, Zhi-ming (2013). "A new gigantic sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Shanshan, Xinjiang" (PDF). Global Geology (in Chinese). 32 (3): 437–446. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-5589.2013.03.002.
  6. ↑ Paul, Gregory S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs 2nd Edition. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 207.
  7. ↑ Molina-Perez & Larramendi (2020). Dinosaur Facts and Figures: The Sauropods and Other Sauropodomorphs. New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 55 & 251.
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