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There are different opinions about what the prototype of the dragon is. Some believe that its image is a reference to thunder and lightning or a snake and a crocodile, while others believe that it is a reference to other visions.
Although the prototype is not clear, the word "dragon" appears in the names of many Mesozoic reptiles – many of the dinosaurs we are familiar with (yes, dinosaurs were divided into bird and non-avian dinosaurs) are typical examples.
Today, the Academy of Science brings five dinosaurs born in China to you for the New Year! The five people who appeared this time are from five different provinces, see if there are any "dragons" from your hometown? (Note: The order of appearance is arranged in order of "East, West, South, North, Middle").
Vegetarian Shandong Han
The first one to appear is from more than 70 million years agoGiant Shandong Dragon
The giant Shantungosaurus giganteus can reach a length of 15-16 meters and weigh more than 15 tonsThat's about the equivalent of two or three African savannah elephants(some large individuals can even reach about 20 tons), it can be said that it is the "Shandong Han" in the duck-billed dragon superfamily. It is also the largest ornithischian dinosaur, with femurs that can be more than 1 percent longAt 8 meters, the length of the skull is also similar to the height of an adult. To feed such a huge size, theyMore than 1000 smaller teeth are requiredGo grind the angiosperms of the Late Cretaceous.
Restoration of the giant Shandong dragon.
***dinosaurpictures.org）
Shandong dragon skeleton (**Wikipedia).
The giant dragon usually walks on four legs, and sometimes it is thicker than its forelimbsThe hind limbs support the body, go eat plants from high places, and show off your body that is more than two stories tall. After eating, they also need to pay attention to whether the elderly, weak, sick and disabled around them are being targeted by the fierce Zhucheng Tyrannosaurus (Zhuchengtyrannus magnus).
Zhucheng Tyrannosaurus Rex, a relative of the Tyrannosaurus rex we are familiar with, is smaller than the monarch Tyrannosaurus rex in China, with an average weight smaller than that of the Tyrannosaurus rex, but equivalent to an Asian elephant. Although the giant Shandong dragon did not have the armor or bony horns of the intradermal bones, the adult healthy individuals were large enough that the Zhucheng Tyrannosaurus did not dare to provoke them easily, and the old and weak individuals were quite dangerous.
Shandong dragon dorsal vertebra (**Wikipedia).
The skeleton of the Tyrannosaurus rex or its analogue (incorrectly written on the plaque).
The author was photographed at the Geological Museum of China).
If you want to see the Shandong giant and his enemy, the Zhucheng Tyrannosaurus, you can go to the Shandong Zhucheng Dinosaur National Geopark, and their fossils can also be seen at the Geological Museum of China in Beijing's Xicheng District. When you look at the skeleton of the giant Shandong dragon, you may be shocked by the towering nerve spines attached to the muscles on its back and its huge body.
Originally from Xinjiang, I am a "little" relative of Tyrannosaurus rex
The second to appear was from XinjiangColorful crested dragon（guanlong wucaii）。
They were found in the Shishugou Formation in the Junggar Basin of Xinjiang (the Shishugou Formation produced the world's richest and most important Middle-Late Jurassic dinosaur fauna), and the species name Wucai came from Wucaiwan in Xinjiang. The fossil was first discovered in 2002 and officially named by Academician Xu Xing's team in 2006. Only two fossil specimens have been found, one as an adult and the other as a juvenile.
Skeleton model of the multicolored crested dragon.
The author was photographed at the Shanghai Museum of Natural History).
Comparison of the size of the electric crown dragon and the size of a human (**
The multicolored crested dragon belongs to the protoceratosauridae of the Tyrannosaurus superfamily, and is considered the "uncle" of the Tyrannosaurus rex and the giant Zhucheng Tyrannosaurus. As a junior senior of the monarch Tyrannosaurus rex,The Colorful Crested Dragon is a small man with a length of only three meters, there is no such stout cervical vertebrae and huge head as the monarch Tyrannosaurus rex, and the number of fingers is also three, while the specialized juniors of the Tyrannosaurus rex family have two fingers, and the top of the head also has an obvious crown instead of the "flat head" like the Tyrannosaurus rex.
Monarch Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton with a thick skull and vestigial fingers.
The author was photographed at the National Maritime Museum).
As a smaller predator of that era, they are often busy: you need to watch out for a length of up to 5The 5-metre-tall Monlophosaurus jiangi and the larger Sinraptor Dongi also attacked the ceratosaur predecessors, Hualianceratops wucaiwanensis and Yinlong Downsi, as well as other smaller theropod dinosaurs. In this kind of life where there are natural enemies and prey, they finally break through many difficulties and have descendants to become the overlords of one side (that is, the Zhucheng Tyrannosaurus and Monarch Tyrannosaurus rex mentioned above). If you want to see the crown dragon, you can visit the Chinese Museum of Ancient Zoology in Beijing and the Shanghai Museum of Natural History.
Restoration of the multicolored crested dragon.
***search4dinosaurs.com）
I'm from Fujian with beautiful feathers
Now coming to us is the representative of the South, livingAbout 15-1.4.8 billion years agoof Fujian ProvinceStrange Fujian Dragon（fujianvenator prodigiosus）！It can also be called the Strange Fujian Hunting Dragon, because the venator in its genus name is the Latin word for hunter.
This is the first dinosaur found in Fujian Province, and it belongs to the branch of the saurischia-theropoda. The large family of ornithischians includes modern birds, as well as a bunch of bird-like dinosaurs and primitive birds such as Archaeopteryx. In the autumn of 2023, the team of researcher Wang Min from the Institute of Paleospine of the Chinese Academy of Sciences published an article in southern China about a new member of the birdwing family, this new member is the Singular Fujian Dragon.
Strange Fujian dragon fossils.
The author photographed at the Beijing Pavilion of the Museum of Chinese Antiquities).
There are many members of the class OrnithischiaCovered in flaky feathers(Some even have asymmetrical flight feathers, which have the ability to soar into the sky), and the structure of the forelimbs also has a half-moon-shaped carpal bone that allows the wings to fold up. The original ornithischian members also had elongated tails, while birds had shortened tail heights.
Restoration of the bizarre Fujian dragon, with a small off-lomb under its feet.
Drawn by Zhao Chuang).
According to fossil research, scientists have foundThe body of the strange Fujian dragon is less than a meter long and weighs only a few hundred grams. It has a relatively long tibia, which is typical".Long legs”。They may have lived near the water, and their habits were more like today's cranes and egrets (although they probably did not have the same superb flying ability as many modern birds), and there was a certain gap between them and the land-dwelling ornithischian dinosaurs in the north.
They spend their days fishing near the water, and they seem to be at peace with the turtles at the water's edge, but they need to fight against the food snatchers (these animals have similar habits to crocodiles but are not crocodiles).
The statue of the bizarre Fujian dragon was erected in Zhenghe County, Fujian, and the fossil is in the Chinese Museum of Ancient Zoology in Beijing.
This ankylosaurus in Liaoning is different from other ankylosaurs
The fourth person to appear was from the northLegendary Dragon of the Rising Sun（chuanqilong chaoyangensis）。
It comes from the land of Liaoxi in the Early Cretaceous, and the juvenile individual can grow up to 45 meters long (the length of the originally discovered type specimen is this),In adulthood, the length can exceed 6 meters。Like the Exosaurus liaoningosaurus, they were early Cretaceous dinosaurs belonging to the Ankylosaurus family, but the latter was smaller, the size of a puppy.
Sunrise Legendary Dragon Limb Skeleton (Wikipedia).
Fossilized body bones of the legendary dragon of the rising sun.
***xing et al.,2014）
In the public impression, the "tail" of ankylosaurs is very special, and their tail mallets resemble one".Meteor HammerVery strong feeling. (Note: Ankylosaurs belong to the class Ornithischians).
The tail hammer of Zulusaurus, another Ankylosauridae found in the Late Cretaceous of North America (Wikipedia).
Although the Chaoyang Legendary Dragon is a member of the Ankylosauridae under the Ankylosauridae, it does not carry a tail mallet like the Ankylosauridae in the public impression, why is this? Because the tail mallet is characteristic of the late specialized Ankylosauridae. The Chaoyang Legendary Dragon, on the other hand, was an early and more primitive member of the Ankylosauridae. The formation of the "meteor hammer" requires the elongation of the anterior and posterior articular processes of the tail vertebrae, the tail peduncle of the tail vertebrae buckled together, and the caudal stalk is also together with the intradermal osteogenesis at the end of the tail. The tail of the Legendary Dragon of the Rising Sun did not have a tail peduncle or mallet, as was the case with many other early ankylosaurs.
From this point of view, the Rising Sun Legendary Dragon is indeed a little "strange". However, in 2014, the experts who discovered and named them (from Shenyang Normal University, the British Museum of Natural History, etc.) gave it the name "legend" because of the abundance of fossil sources rather than the characteristics of dinosaurs.
Restoration of the Legendary Dragon of the Rising Sun.
***prehistoria.fandom.com）
But if you want to talk about similarities, the Chaoyang Legendary Dragon still has many similarities with its younger generations, one thing is the intradermal osteodorm on its body. This is the bone fragment formed by the dermis inside their body to defend the body. The crocodiles we are familiar with, the armadillos of today, and some lizards, such as the Comodo dragon, are typical examples of intradermal osteogenesis.
A specimen of a Siamese crocodile, the pimple on its back is an example of intradermal osteogenesis.
The author was photographed at the Tianjin Museum of Natural History).
Want to go to see the legendary dragon of the rising sun? Just go to the Jizantang Paleontology Museum in Chaoyang City, Liaoning Province!
The last one to appear has a very special name
The fifth dinosaur to appear is from the Central PlainsZhuge Nanyang Dragon（nanyangosaurus zhugeii）！That's right, that's the name!
It was discovered in the 90s of the last century and named in 2000, and a large number of coccygeal vertebrae, part of the dorsal vertebrae and vertebral bones, as well as pelvis and part of the limb bones were found in the orthotype specimens. It is also the first dinosaur to be discovered and named in Henan Province.
Zhuge Nanyang dragon skeleton rack (**Wikipedia).
Like the giant Shandong dragon in the east, Zhuge Nanyangsaurus belongs to the hadrosauromorpha under the ornithischia, but the Zhuge Nanyangosaurus in the Early Cretaceous is very small and has a more primitive body structure.
Zhuge Nanyang Dragon'sThe length is only 4-5 meters, hip height is only 15 meters (in comparison, Wolong Zhuge Liang is eight feet tall, which can be regarded as a very tall figure among people.......)Even so, if you put this big dick next to you,It is also the size of a pony, the femur length alone can reach 517 centimeters, they are not slow to run either.
Gave a reconstruction of the obvious first knuckle of the Nanyang Dragon.
***dinosaurpictures.org）
This guy isn't a slow runnerIt may not be possible to give a "thumbs up".。The carpal bone and first knuckle are not preserved in the fossils, and there is an opinion that its first knuckle is not developed, and the main reason why the carpal bone is not preserved may be because the carpal bone is too small to preserve like many duck-billed dinosaurs. Of course, it is also possible that its wrist bone is relatively large and has a first knuckle like a thumb, but it has not been found.
Comparison of avian dragons and humans, avian dragons are a more primitive category than duck-billed dragons, it has a large carpal bone and retains the carpal bone and the first knuckle (that is, the sharp position of the legs), and some people believe that Zhuge Nanyang dragon belongs to the class of avian dragons, (*Wikipedia).
Zhuge Nanyanglong also has many relatives who have appeared in Inner Mongolia, Gansu and Guangxi. For example, Bactrosaurus johnsoni in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xuwulong Yueluni in Gansu Province, and Nanningosaurus dashiensis in Guangxi.
So go to ** and see Zhuge Nanyang Dragon? The answer is in the West Gorge of Henan Province, if you want to see it, go to the West Gorge Dinosaur Site Park!
Conclusion
Well, friends, this issue of "East, West, South, North, Middle, Chinese Dinosaur New Year" program is coming to an end! A New Year's question for everyone:
Do you have dinosaurs over there? What is your name? Feel free to shout their names in the comments section!
References:
1]xu, x., forster, c.a., clark, j.m., and mo, j. (2006). "a basal ceratopsian with transitional features from the late jurassic of northwestern china." proceedings of the royal society b: biological sciences, 273(1598): 2135-2140. doi:10.1098/rspb.2006.3566
2]xu x.; clark, j.m.; forster, c. a.; norell,m.a.; erickson, g.m.; eberth, d.a.; jia, c. &zhao, q. (2006). "a basal tyrannosauroid dinosaur from the late jurassic of china" (pdf).nature. 439 (7077): 715–718. bibcode:2006natur.439..715x.doi:10.1038/nature04511
3]phil r. bell; tom brougham; matthew c. herne; timothy frauenfelder; elizabeth t. smith (2019). "fostoria dhimbangunmal, gen. et sp. nov., a new iguanodontian (dinosauria, ornithopoda) from the mid-cretaceous of lightning ridge, new south wales, australia". journal of vertebrate paleontology 39: e1564757. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1564757
4]x. xu, x.-j. zhao, j.-c., w.-b. huang, z.-y. li and z.-m. dong, 2000, "a new iguanodontian from sangping formation of neixiang, henan and its stratigraphical implication", vertebrata palasiatica 38(3): 176-191
5]wang, d. et al., 2013. discovery of invertebrate zoolite in the xiaguan formation of xiaguan-gaoqiu basin, henan, china, and its importance for stratigraphic subdivision comparison. acta geologica sinica 87: 1049–1058.
6]han, f.; zheng, w.; hu, d.; xu, x.; barrett, p.m. (2014). "a new basal ankylosaurid (dinosauria: ornithischia) from the lower cretaceous jiufotang formation of liaoning province, china". plos one 9 (8): e104551. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104551. pmid 25118986. bibcode: 2014ploso...9j4551h.
7]ji, shu-an; zhang, lijun; zhang, shudong; hang, shan (2014). "large-sized ankylosaur (dinosauria) from the lower cretaceous jiufotang formation of western liaoning, china". acta geologica sinica 88 (4): 1060–1065. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12273.
8], x.; reisz, r. r. (may 10–13, 2019). "the early cretaceous ankylosaur liaoningosaurus from western liaoning, china; progress and problems". 7th annual meeting canadian society of vertebrate palaeontology. pp. 31–32.
9] Li Xu Xing. The Colorful Tyrannosaurus Rex Family (II)[J].Nature,2013(05):44-47
10]xing, hai; zhao, xijin; wang, kebai; li, dunjing; chen, shuqing; mallon, jordan c; zhang, yanxia; xu, xing (2014). "comparative osteology and phylogenetic relationship of edmontosaurus and shantungosaurus (dinosauria: hadrosauridae) from the upper cretaceous of north america and east asia". acta geologica sinica-english edition 88 (6): 1623–1652. doi:10.1111/1755-6724.12334.
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