Numerous feathered dinosaur specimens have recently been recovered from the Middle-Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous deposits of northeastern China, but most of them represent small animals. Here we report the discovery of a gigantic new basal tyrannosauroid, Yutyrannus huali gen. et sp. nov., based on three nearly complete skeletons representing two distinct ontogenetic stages from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Liaoning Province, China. Y. huali shares some features, particularly of the cranium, with derived tyrannosauroids, but is similar to other basal tyrannosauroids in possessing a three-fingered manus and a typical theropod pes. Morphometric analysis suggests that Y. huali differed from tyrannosaurids in its growth strategy. Most significantly, Y. huali bears long filamentous feathers, thus providing direct evidence for the presence of extensively feathered gigantic dinosaurs and offering new insights into early feather evolution.
The close affinity between Edmontosaurus and Shantungosaurus is corroborated on the basis of the following shared features: an occipital condyle deflected strongly posteroventrally; a posterodorsally reflected, lip‐shaped oral margin of the premaxilla, with a deep, oval concavity at the anteromedial corner of the bone; a well‐demarcated posterodorsal margin of the deeply excavated circumnarial fossa formed by a prominent arched ridge along the entire posterior half of the lateroventral border of the nasal; an anteroposteriorly broad jugal process of the postorbital; a strongly concave dorsal surface of the paired frontals; seven teeth per alveolus in the middle of the dentary tooth row; and a circular distal blade of the pubis that is much more expanded ventrally than dorsally. A revised phylogenetic analysis of Hadrosauroidea recovers a sister taxon relationship between Edmontosaurus and Shantungosaurus. Kerberosaurus is recovered as the sister taxon to the clade formed exclusively by these two genera. The clade Edmontosaurini could be defined as the least inclusive clade containing Kerberosaurus and Edmontosaurus, which is currently composed of the genera Kerberosaurus, Edmontosaurus, and Shantungosaurus. Zhuchengosaurus and Huaxiaosaurus, both from the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group in Zhucheng, are interpreted as junior synonyms of Shantungosaurus. Kundurosaurus is likewise considered a junior synonym of Kerberosaurus. The strict consensus tree together with biogeographic information indicates that the clade Edmontosaurini originated in Asia and subsequently dispersed into North America.
The partial skeleton of a leptoceratopsid dinosaur, Ischioceratops zhuchengensis gen. et sp. nov., was excavated from the bone-beds of the Upper Cretaceous Wangshi Group of Zhucheng, Shandong Province, China. This fossil represents the second leptoceratopsid dinosaur specimen recovered from the Kugou locality, a highly productive site in Zhucheng. The ischium of the new taxon is morphologically unique among known Dinosauria, flaring gradually to form an obturator process in its middle portion and resembling the shaft of a recurve bow. An elliptical fenestra perforates the obturator process, and the distal end of the shaft forms an axehead-shaped expansion. The discovery of Ischioceratops increases the known taxonomic diversity and morphological disparity of the Leptoceratopsidae.
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