China’s “first dragon” in the Year of the Dragon has a name: “Datai Dragon”!

On February 29, the reporter learned from the research team from China and Canada that the two ankylosaur specimens previously discovered in Huichang County, Jiangxi Province are a new genus and species of ankylosaurs. The researchers named it "Dataisaurus", which means "accessible and safe". The discovery of Dataisaurus is an important supplement to the fossil record of ankylosaurs in the early Late Cretaceous.

Ankylosaurs are herbivorous dinosaurs that lived in North America and Asia during the Late Cretaceous. Their most distinctive feature is that they are covered with a large number of bone plates, like they are wearing "armor", so they are often called "tank dinosaurs" . The members of the subfamily Ankylosauria are larger in size, with a wider head and body, and a well-developed tail club at the end of their tails.

The picture shows the 3D reconstruction model of Dataron. (Provided by the interviewee)

This achievement was jointly completed by Associate Professor Xing Lida of China University of Geosciences (Beijing), Executive Director Niu Kecheng of Fujian Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum, and scholars from the Canadian Museum of Nature, and was recently published in the international academic journal "Vertebrate Anatomy, Morphology and Paleontology".

It is reported that when Huichang was excavating a road in 2016, some villagers noticed that white bone objects could be vaguely seen among the scattered purple-red gravel, but because it was too broken and difficult to distinguish, it was picked up and kept locally. Until 2018, the Fujian Yingliang Stone Natural History Museum collected the gravel and restored, protected and studied it.

The picture shows the fossil specimen of Dataron after cleaning and restoration. (Provided by the interviewee)

After a long period of splicing and restoration, the two superimposed ankylosaur specimens gradually emerged. Research has found that both specimens are sub-adult individuals, about 3.5 to 4 meters long, with prominent premaxilla and iconic cranial protrusions similar to most other ankylosaur subfamily, and a unique feature is a pair of small outward-extending horns on each side of the cheek.

The picture shows a restoration of two superimposed Datarons. (Provided by the interviewee)

Xing Lida introduced that Datasaurus belongs to the derived group of the Asian ankylosaur subfamily, and may form a sister group with the painted dragon found in northern China and Mongolia . Its superimposed burial posture has also appeared in painted dragons, which was interpreted as rapid burial by wind and sand deposition at the time, indirectly indicating the gregarious behavior of painted dragons. "The Datasaurus specimen was deposited in a river or lake. Whether it was buried in situ is still unknown, but it is likely related to the gregarious behavior of ankylosaurs."

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Source: Xinhua News Agency

Editor: Yinuo