Liaoningotitan

Liaoningotitan (meaning "Liaoning giant") is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China.

Liaoningotitan Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Barremian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	†Sauropoda
Clade:	†Macronaria
Clade:	†Somphospondyli
Genus:	†Liaoningotitan Zhou et al., 2018
Species:	†L. sinensis
Binomial name
†Liaoningotitan sinensis Zhou et al., 2018

Description

Distinguishing features of Liaoningotitan include a ventral margin of the maxilla that is convex, an upper tooth row that is short and anteriorly positioned; an anterior extension of the jugal that nearly reaches the level of the anterior margin of the antorbital fenestra; a basally constricted quadrate wing of the pterygoid; imbricated upper teeth, with narrow spatulate crowns that are D-shaped in cross section, and no labial grooves or denticles; nine reduced and un-imbricated lower teeth; asymmetric lower tooth crowns which are elliptical-like in cross section, with lingual grooves and ridges and a lingually bulbous basal crown; a proximal expansion of the humerus that is about 54.9% the length of the humerus; and an ilium with a pointed preacetabular process.^[1]

Classification

Zhou et al. (2018) recover Liaoningotitan as a somphospondylan titanosauriform more derived than Euhelopus.^[1] In 2022, Mo et al. found Liaoningotitan to be an unstable taxon that may be closely related to Diamantinasaurus and Baotianmansaurus.^[2]

Paleoecology

Liaoningotitan is one of three titanosauriforms from the Yixian Formation of Liaoning, the others being Dongbeititan and Ruixinia.^[2] These forms co-existed with feathered dinosaurs in the Early Cretaceous lacustrine environment of present-day Liaoning.^[1]

References

1. Zhou, C.-F.; Wu, W.-H.; Sekiya, T.; Dong, Z.-M. (2018). "A new Titanosauriformes dinosaur from Jehol Biota of western Liaoning, China". Global Geology. 37 (2): 327–333. doi:10.3969/j.issn.1004-5589.2018.02.001.
2. Mo, Jinyou; Ma, Feimin; Yu, Yilun; Xu, Xing (2022-12-09). "A new titanosauriform sauropod with an unusual tail from the Lower Cretaceous of northeastern China". Cretaceous Research. 144: 105449. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2022.105449. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 254524890.