Mesozoic china rpg|dino pov

Prehistoric china was a Vast land full of Arid forests And swamps. Animals: Shantungasaurus: Shantungosaurus (lit. 'Shandong Lizard') is a genus of very large saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur found in the Late Cretaceous Wangshi Group of the Shandong Peninsula in China, containing a single species, Shantungosaurus giganteus.[1] 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.[2] Shantungosaurus is so far the largest hadrosauroid taxon in the world, with size estimates around 15–17 metres (49–56 ft) in length and 13–16 metric tons (14–18 short tons) in body mass First described in 1973,[3] Shantungosaurus is known from over five incomplete skeletons that were unearthed from 1964 to 1968. 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.[4] However, further study showed that the supposedly distinct features of Zhuchengosaurus were simply a result of different growth stages.[5] Shantungosaurus giganteus is one of the largest known ornithischians. The type skull is 1.63 metres (5.3 ft) long,[1] and the composite skeleton mounted at the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing measures 14.7 metres (48 ft) in length.[6] Another mounted skeleton, originally referred to as Zhuchengosaurus maximus, measures 16.6 metres (54 ft) in length.[4] The largest individuals may have weighed as much as 16 tonnes (18 short tons).[7] In 2012, Butler and Barrett estimated its maximum length up to 17 metres (56 ft).[8] In 2016, Gregory S. Paul suggested that previous studies have overestimated the size of this dinosaur, moderating it at 15 metres (49 ft) in length and 13 metric tons (14 short tons) in body mass, which still makes this dinosaur the largest hadrosaur.[9] 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.[citation needed] Shunosaurus: Shunosaurus (lit. 'lizard from Sichuan') is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from Late Jurassic (Oxfordian) beds in Sichuan Province in China, from 161 to 157 Million years ago.[1] The name derives from "Shu", an ancient name for the Sichuan province. The first fossil of Shunosaurus was discovered in 1977 by a group of students, practising paleontological excavation at a road bank. The type species, Shunosaurus lii, was described and named by Dong Zhiming, Zhou Shiwu and Zhang Yihong in 1983. The generic name derives from "Shu", an ancient name for Sichuan. The specific name honours hydrologist Li Bing, the governor of Sichuan in the third century BC.[2] The holotype, IVPP V.9065, was collected from the Lower Xiashaximiao Formation near Dashanpu, Zigong. It consists of a partial skeleton. Later about twenty more major specimens were discovered, including several complete or near-complete skeletons, skulls and juveniles,[3] making Shunosaurus one of the best anatomically known sauropods, with 94% of all skeletal elements identified. Shunosaurus skeletons are on display at the Zigong Dinosaur Museum in Zigong, Sichuan Province, and the Tianjin Natural History Museum. A proposed second species, S. ziliujingensis, a name mentioned in the Zigong museum guide to indicate a smaller and older form, has never been formally described, and thus remains a nomen nudum. In 2004 a partial semi-articulated specimen from Jiangyi Township in Yuanmou County was described as the new species Shunosaurus jiangyiensis. It is known from nine cervicals, 15 dorsals, three sacrals, four caudals, both scapulae, the right coracoid and clavicle, the right forelimb lacking the hand, a pubis and ischium and the right hindlimb, found in the upper section of the Middle Jurassic Xiashaximiao Formation. The species was separated from Shunosaurus lii based on its unique pectoral girdle, but was described as otherwise very similar to both Shunosaurus lii and Kunmingosaurus.[4] hunosaurus was first estimated to be 11 metres (36 ft) long; later and more complete finds indicated a somewhat smaller size. In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated the length at 9.5 metres (31 ft), the weight at 3 metric tons (3.3 short tons).[5] Shunosaurus was very short-necked for a sauropod, comparable to certain members of Dicraeosauridae.[6] The skulls found are mostly compressed or disarticulated and the interpretation of the head form has varied from broad, short and deep[7] to extremely narrow and pointed.[8] The upper and lower jaws were strongly curved upwards, allowing them to function as a pair of garden shears. The teeth were fairly robust but elongated with a crown length of up to 8 centimetres (3.1 in). They show a unique combination of a cylindrical body ending in a spatulate tip. Published in 1989 was the discovery that the tail ended in a club,[9] equipped on its top with two successive spikes formed by cone-shaped osteoderms with a length of 5 centimetres (2.0 in). The club was probably used to fend off predators. Lufengosaurus: Lufengosaurus (Chinese: 祿豐龍 or 禄丰龙, meaning "Lufeng lizard") is a genus of massospondylid dinosaur which lived during the Early Jurassic period in what is now southwestern China.[1] The first remains of Lufengosaurus were found during the late 1930s by geologist Bien Meinian in the Lower Lufeng Formation at Shawan, near Lufeng in the Yunnan Province of China. From 1938 onwards, Meinian was joined by paleontologist C. C. Young (Chinese: 杨钟健, Yáng Zhōngjiàn). Young would go on to name the animal's type species, Lufengosaurus huenei, in 1940, with the generic name referring to Lufeng where it was found and the specific name honoring Young's old tutor, the German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene.[2] Young would go on to publish a detailed description of the animal the following year and would assign specimen IVPP V15 as the holotype of the species, this specimen consisting of a nearly complete skeleton with a well-preserved skull.[3] A second species of Lufengosaurus, L. magnus, was also named by Young in 1940 in the same paper as Lufengosaurus huenei and would be fully described by him in 1947. As its specific name suggests, with the word magnus meaning "the large one" in Latin, this species was considered separate from L. huenei due to its significantly larger size, with it being up to a third larger than L. huenei in length. However, most authors have regarded it as a junior synonym of L. huenei, with its specimens being said to simply represent larger individuals of the type species.[4] Another "prosauropod" Young named in 1940, Gyposaurus sinensis, was noted by him to be distinct from Lufengosaurus on behalf of the limbs being at least 50% smaller, though similarities in overall form were noted.[2] This genus has subsequently been referred to Lufengosaurus on two separate occasions: once by Peter Galton in 1976 and once in a 2017 SVP presentation by Wang and colleagues.[5][6] The referral is however doubted by some. Lufengosaurus would be referred to another genus yet again in the 1980s, with Michael Cooper suggesting that Lufengosaurus and Yunnanosaurus were species of the South African genus Massospondylus 1981.[7] However, a reanalysis in 2005 by Paul Barrett and colleagues, performed on the skull of Lufengosaurus huenei established it firmly as a valid genus separate from both Massospondylus and Yunnanosaurus based on craniodental characteristics.[4] This same 2005 study would provide an extensive and detailed redescription of the cranial osteology of the holotype skull of the animal. The year 1985 saw Zhao Xijin name a new species of the animal in a list of Jurassic reptiles from China. Zhao named it Lufengosaurus "changduensis", with the naming of the animal being prompted by the recovery of a specimen from Tibet.[8] The species has however remained undescribed and thus a nomen nudum, with neither the reported Tibetan specimen nor any other material being formally assigned to it after it was named. In 2015, preserved collagen protein was found in a Lufengosaurus fossil by an international team led by Yao-Chang Lee of Taiwan's National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center. The protein, described in Nature Communications (2017 January 31), was over 100 million years older than any previously recorded fossil protein, having sizeable implications for our understanding of protein preservation.[9] Lufengosaurus is often described as a rather small early sauropodomorph, about 6 metres (20 ft) long.[1] However, when the L. magnus specimens are included, its size is more considerable: Gregory S. Paul estimated a length of 9 metres (30 ft) and a weight of 1.7 metric tons (1.9 short tons) in 2010, while Benson et al. (2014) estimated a mass of 2.3 tonnes (2.5 short tons).[10][11] For an early sauropodomorph, its neck is rather long and the forelimbs are relatively short. From these it was inferred that the species was bipedal, even before it became common to assume this for all basal sauropodomorphs. Yang published a full osteology of Lufengosaurus in 1941,[3] but was severely hampered in his diagnosis by the war conditions, preventing a full access to literature and making an adequate comparison with related forms impossible. Of the skull a modern description exists. The skull of the holotype is 25 centimetres (9.8 in) long.[4] Psittacosaurus: Psittacosaurus (/ˌsɪtəkəˈsɔːrəs/ SIT-ə-kə-SOR-əs; "parrot lizard")[1] is a genus of extinct ceratopsian dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of what is now Asia, existing between 125 and 105 million years ago. It is notable for being the most species-rich non-avian dinosaur genus. Up to 12 species are known, from across China, Mongolia, Russia, and Thailand. The species of Psittacosaurus were obligate bipeds at adulthood, with a high skull and a robust beak. One individual was found preserved with long filaments on the tail, similar to those of Tianyulong. Psittacosaurus probably had complex behaviours, based on the proportions and relative size of the brain. It may have been active for short periods of time during the day and night, and had well-developed senses of smell and vision. Psittacosaurus was one of the earliest ceratopsians, but closer to Triceratops than Yinlong. Once in its own family, Psittacosauridae, with other genera like Hongshanosaurus, it is now considered to be senior synonym of the latter and an early offshoot of the branch that led to more derived forms. The genera closely related to Psittacosaurus are all from Asia, with the exception of Aquilops, from North America. The first species was either P. lujiatunensis or closely related, and it may have given rise to later forms of Psittacosaurus. Psittacosaurus is one of the most completely known dinosaur genera. Fossils of hundreds of individuals have been collected so far, including many complete skeletons. Most age classes are represented, from hatchling through to adult, which has allowed several detailed studies of Psittacosaurus growth rates and reproductive biology. The abundance of this dinosaur in the fossil record has led to the labelling of Lower Cretaceous sediments of east Asia the Psittacosaurus biochron 1 Oviraptor: Oviraptor (/ˈoʊvɪræptər/; lit. 'egg thief') is a genus of oviraptorid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous period. The first remains were collected from the Djadokhta Formation of Mongolia in 1923 during a paleontological expedition led by Roy Chapman Andrews, and in the following year the genus and type species Oviraptor philoceratops were named by Henry Fairfield Osborn. The genus name refers to the initial thought of egg-stealing habits, and the specific name was intended to reinforce this view indicating a preference over ceratopsian eggs. Despite the fact that numerous specimens have been referred to the genus, Oviraptor is only known from a single partial skeleton regarded as the holotype, as well as a nest of about fifteen eggs and several small fragments from a juvenile. Oviraptor was a rather small feathered oviraptorid, estimated at 1.6–2 m (5.2–6.6 ft) long with a weight between 33–40 kg (73–88 lb). It had a wide lower jaw with a skull that likely had a crest. Both upper and lower jaws were toothless and developed a horny beak, which was used during feeding along the robust morphology of the lower jaws. The arms were well-developed and elongated ending in three fingers with curved claws. Like other oviraptorids, Oviraptor had long hindlimbs that had four-toed feet, with the first toe reduced. The tail was likely not very elongated, and ended in a pygostyle that supported large feathers. The initial relationships of Oviraptor were poorly understood at the time and was assigned to the unrelated Ornithomimidae by the original describer, Henry Osborn. However, re-examinations made by Rinchen Barsbold proved that Oviraptor was distinct enough to warrant a separate family, the Oviraptoridae. When first described, Oviraptor was interpreted as an egg-thief, egg-eating dinosaur given the close association of the holotype with a dinosaur nest. However, findings of numerous oviraptorosaurs in nesting poses have demonstrated that this specimen was actually brooding the nest and not stealing nor feeding on the eggs. Moreover, the discovery of remains of a small juvenile or nestling have been reported in association with the holotype specimen, further supporting parental care. Yutyrannus: Yutyrannus (meaning "feathered tyrant") is a genus of proceratosaurid tyrannosauroid dinosaur which contains a single known species, Yutyrannus huali. This species lived during the early Cretaceous period in what is now northeastern China.[1] Three fossils of Yutyrannus huali — all found in the rock beds of Liaoning Province — are the largest-known dinosaur specimens that preserve direct evidence of feathers.[2] Yutyrannus huali was named and scientifically described in 2012 by Xu Xing et al. The name is derived from Mandarin Chinese yǔ (羽, "feather") and Latinised Greek tyrannos (τύραννος, "tyrant"), a reference to its classification as a feathered member of the Tyrannosauroidea. The specific name consists of the Mandarin huáli (华丽 simplified, 華麗 traditional, "beautiful"), in reference to the perceived beauty of the plumage.[1] Yutyrannus is known from three nearly complete fossil specimens (an adult, a subadult and a juvenile) acquired from a fossil dealer who claimed all three had their provenance in a single quarry at Batu Yingzi in Liaoning Province, China. They were thus probably found in a layer of the Yixian Formation, dating from the Aptian, approximately 125 million years old.[1] The specimens had been cut into pieces about the size of bath mats, which could be carried by two people.[3] The holotype, ZCDM V5000, is the largest specimen, consisting of a nearly complete skeleton with a skull, compressed on a slab, of an adult individual. The paratypes are the two other specimens: ZCDM V5001 consisting of a skeleton of a smaller individual and part of the same slab as the holotype; and ELDM V1001, a juvenile estimated to have been eight years younger than the holotype. The fossils are part of the collections of the Zhucheng Dinosaur Museum and the Erlianhaote Dinosaur Museum but have been prepared by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, under the guidance of Xu.[1] This diagram shows the current sizes of the existing Yutyrannus specimens (Labled on Image). The grid in the background is equal to 1 meter, with the largest specimen (ZCDM v5000) being just over 7 meters long, while the smallest specimen (ELDM v1001) is just over 4 meters long. Size of three Yutyrannus specimens compared to a human Yutyrannus was a large bipedal predator. The holotype and oldest-known specimen has an estimated length of 9 metres (29.5 ft) and an estimated weight of about 1,414 kilograms (3,117 lb).[1] In 2016, Gregory S. Paul gave lower estimations of 7.5 metres (24.6 ft) and 1.1 tonnes (1.2 short tons).[4] Its skull has an estimated length of 90.5 centimetres (35.6 in). The skulls of the paratypes are 80 centimetres (31 in) and 63 centimetres (25 in) long and their weights have been estimated at 596 kilograms (1,314 lb) and 493 kilograms (1,087 lb), respectively.[1] The describers established some diagnostic traits of Yutyrannus, in which it differs from its direct relatives. The snout features a high midline crest, formed by the nasals and the premaxillae and which is covered by large pneumatic recesses. The postorbital bone has a small secondary process, jutting into the upper hind corner of the eye socket. The outer side of the main body of the postorbital is hollowed out. In the lower jaw, the external mandibular fenestra, the main opening in the outer side, is mainly located in the surangular.[1] Mamenchisaurus: Mamenchisaurus (/məˌmʌntʃiˈsɔːrəs/ mə-MUN-chee-SOR-əs,[2] or spelling pronunciation /məˌmɛntʃɪˈsɔːrəs/) is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaurs known for their remarkably long necks[3] which made up nearly half the total body length.[4] Numerous species have been assigned to the genus; however, the validity of these assignments has been questioned. Fossils have been found in the Sichuan Basin and Yunnan Province in China. Several species from the Upper Shaximiao Formation, whose geologic age is uncertain, have been described. However, evidence suggests this formation to be no earlier than the Oxfordian stage of the Late Jurassic. M. sinocanadorum dates to the Oxfordian stage (158.7 to 161.2 mya), and M. anyuensis to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous (around 114.4 mya).[1] Most species were medium-large to large sauropods, measuring roughly 15 to 26 meters (49 to 85 ft) in length—possibly up to 35 meters (115 ft), based on two undescribed vertebrae.[5][6][7] Mamenchisaurus was first discovered in 1952 on the construction site of the Yitang Highway in Sichuan Province of China. The fossil site belonged to the Upper Shaximiao Formation, dating to at least the Late Jurassic.[1] The partial skeleton fossil was later studied and named Mamenchisaurus constructus in 1954 by the renowned Chinese paleontologist Professor C. C. Young. The type specimen (IVPP V. 790) was fragmentary, disordered, and not excavated in a technical way. Material included five dorsal vertebrae, 30 caudal vertebrae, rib fragments, dorsal neural spines, and chevrons. Fourteen neck vertebrae were preserved, but none were complete. Young noted that some neck vertebrae might have been missing. Limb material included two pieces of a femur, a complete tibia, fibula, astragalus, metatarsals, phalanges, and claws. The skull, forelimbs, and pelvic girdle were missing.[8] Mamenchisaurus means 'Mamenchi lizard', from the Chinese Pinyin mǎ (马 'horse') and mén (门 'gate'), while chi is an alternative transliteration of xī (溪 'stream' or 'brook'), combined with the suffix -saurus (from Greek sauros meaning 'lizard'). The intention was to name the genus after the place where its fossil was first found. However, due to an accentual mix-up by Young, the location name Mǎmíngxī (马鸣溪 'horse-neighing brook') was mistaken as Mǎménxī (马门溪 'horse-gate brook').[9] The fact that the first Mamenchisaurus fossil was found due to construction work led to Young's naming the type species as Mamenchisaurus constructus.[8] In 1958, Young described additional sauropod remains collected from Gansu Province. The remains consisted of various partial specimens (IVPP V. 945, V. 946, V. 947, V. 948) most of which were assigned to M. constructus.[10] In 1972, one of these specimens was reassigned to M. hochuanensis.[11] Velociraptor: Velociraptor, (genus Velociraptor), sickle-clawed dinosaur that flourished in central and eastern Asia during the Late Cretaceous Period (99 million to 65 million years ago). It is closely related to the North American Deinonychus of the Early Cretaceous in that both reptiles were dromaeosaurs. Both possessed an unusually large claw on each foot, as well as ossified tendon reinforcements in the tail that enabled them to maintain balance while striking and slashing at prey with one foot upraised. Velociraptor was smaller than Deinonychus, reaching a length of only 1.8 metres (6 feet) and perhaps weighing no more than 45 kg (100 pounds). Velociraptor appears to have been a swift, agile predator of small herbivores. Velociraptor with the size of a large turkey and was covered in feathers. Sinankylosaurus: Sinankylosaurus (meaning "Chinese fused lizard") is a dubious genus of dinosaurs, originally described as an ankylosaur, from the Late Cretaceous Hongtuya Formation of Shandong, China. The genus contains a single species, Sinankylosaurus zhuchengensis, known from a nearly complete right ilium. The holotype specimen, ZJZ-183, was discovered in the Hongtuya Formation (Wangshi Group) in Zhucheng, Shandong Province, China. The fossil, a partial right ilium, was described in 2020 as belonging to an ankylosaur of uncertain affinities.[1] In a 2021 publication, Zheng et al. deemed Sinankylosaurus a nomen dubium with no anatomical characters uniting it with the Ankylosauria.[2]. Mei long: Mei (from Chinese: 寐; pinyin: mèi; lit. 'sleepy') is a genus of duck-sized troodontid dinosaur first unearthed by paleontologists from the Yixian Formation in Liaoning, China in 2004. Mei lived during the Early Cretaceous period. The binomial name of its only species, Mei long (Chinese 寐 mèi and 龍 lóng), means sleeping dragon Mei is a troodontid, a group of small, bird-like, gracile maniraptorans. All troodontids have many unique features of the skull, such as closely spaced teeth in the lower jaw, and large numbers of teeth. Troodontids have sickle-claws and raptorial hands, and some of the highest non-avian encephalization quotients, meaning they were behaviourally advanced and had keen senses.[1] The type fossil is a young juvenile about 53 centimetres (21 in) long, complete and exceptionally well preserved in three-dimensional detail, with the snout nestled beneath one of the forelimbs and the legs neatly folded beneath the body, similar to the roosting position of modern birds. This posture provides another behavioral link between birds and dinosaurs.[2] The chemistry of the matrix stone and the resting pose indicate the living animal was probably buried instantly in volcanic ash. A second specimen, DNHM D2154, was also preserved in a sleeping posture. Although DNHM D2154 exhibits several juvenile-like features including free cervical ribs, unfused frontals and nasals, and a short snouted skull, other attributes, full fusion of all neurocentral synostoses and the sacrum, and dense exteriors to cortical bone, suggest a small, mature individual. Microscopic examination of tibia and fibula histology confirms maturity and suggests an individual greater than two years old with slowed growth. Mei is notable as a distinct species of troodontid based on several unique features, including extremely large nares. It is most closely related to the troodontid Sinovenator, which places it near the base of the troodontid (bird like) family.[3] As a basal troodontid, unlike advanced troodontids, it has a bird like hip structure shared with many advanced maniraptorans. Xinjiangtitan: 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. 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.[ Xinjiangtitan was one of the longest known sauropods, measuring 30–32 metres (98–105 ft) long and weighing up to 40 metric tons (44 short tons).[5][6] 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] Its long neck is measured at least 14.9 m (49 ft) in length.[1]