Heyuannia

Heyuannia
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70–66 Ma
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Skeletal restoration
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Theropoda
Family: †Oviraptoridae
Subfamily: †Oviraptorinae
Genus: †Heyuannia
Lü, 2002
Species: †H. huangi
Binomial name
Heyuannia huangi
Lü, 2002

Heyuannia ("Heyuan one") is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous Period in China. It was the first oviraptorid found in that country; most others were found in neighbouring Mongolia.

Profile restoration

The type species, Heyuannia huangi, was named and described by Lü Junchang in 2002. The generic name refers to the city of Heyuan. The specific name honours Huang Dong, the director of the Heyuan Museum. The holotype, HYMV1-1, was discovered in Guangdong near Huangsha in layers of the Dalangshan Formation. It consists of a partial skeleton, including the skull. Six further skeletons were assigned as paratypes or referred to the species. Multiple other fossils have been found, including one which may retain possible reproductive organs. Also, many thousands of eggs have been uncovered at the site, some of them of a theropod type and likely laid by Heyuannia.[1] Based on examinations of the shells for biliverdin and protoporphyrin by Martin Sanders et al, it is believed that the eggs of Heyuannia were blue-green in color so as to both camouflage them in the nest from predators and to allow their parents to recognize them, something seen today in modern birds like American robins and ratites such as Emus. This discovery also indicates that Heyuannia may have had increased parental care.[2]

Heyuannia is a medium-sized oviraptorid. Gregory S. Paul in 2010 estimated its length at 1.5 metres, the weight at twenty kilograms.[3] Its toothless skull is relatively short with a steep snout. It had very short arms and digits, and its first digit was reduced.[4]

Heyuannia was assigned by Lü to the Oviraptoridae in 2002 . Its exact placement within this group is uncertain. Later analyses either resulted in a position in the Oviraptorinae or the Ingeniinae. According to Lü the morphology of the shoulder girdle of Heyuannia supports the hypothesis that oviraptosaurians were secondarily flightless birds.[5]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lü, J. (2002). "A new oviraptorosaurid (Theropoda: Oviraptorosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of southern China." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 22, 871-875.
  2. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3092629/Dinosaurs-laid-BLUE-eggs-Ancient-reptiles-produced-brightly-coloured-shells-camouflage-clutches-predators.html
  3. ↑ Paul, G.S., 2010, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 154
  4. ↑ Lü, J. (2005). Oviraptorid dinosaurs from Southern China. Beijing: Geological Publishing House. ISBN 7-116-04368-3. 200 pages + 8 plates. (In Chinese: pp 1-83, including 36 figures & 3 tables. In English: pp 85-200, including 5 geological figures.)
  5. ↑ Lü J., Huang D. and Qiu L., 2005, "The Pectoral Girdle and the Forelimb of Heyuannia (Dinosauria: Oviraptorosauria)". In: Carpenter (ed.). The Carnivorous Dinosaurs. Indiana University Press. pp 256-273
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