Pronunciation: ur-lee-yen-sor-us
Meaning: Erlian lizard
Author/s: Xu et al. (2002)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Inner Mongolia, China
Discovery Chart Position: #504
Erliansaurus bellamanus
(Erlian lizard with beautiful hands)Etymology
Erliansaurus combines "Erlian" (the town—called, on English maps, "Erenhot"—where it was discovered) with the Greek "sauros" (lizard).
The species epithet, bellamanus, is derived from the Latin "bellus" (pretty, beautiful) and "manus" (hand), in reference to its beautifully preserved forelimb.
Discovery
The remains of Erliansaurus were discovered in the Iren Dabasu Formation at Erlian, Sanhangobi, Nei Mongol (Inner Mongolia), Peoples Republic of China, by an expedition team from the Department of Land Resources
of Nei Mongol in 1999.
The holotype (LH V0002) is a partial skeleton including five vertebrae from the neck, back and tail, a right shoulder blade, a left forelimb lacking the wrist, parts of the pelvis, a right thigh, both shins, a right calf, and some foot bones.
