Pronunciation: go-bee-SOR-us
Meaning: Gobi lizard
Author/s: Vickaryous et al. (2001)
Synonyms: Zhongyuansaurus?
First Discovery: Inner Mongolia, China
Discovery Chart Position: #481
Gobisaurus domoculus
Discovered in 1960 in the same area as Chilantaisaurus, the remains that would eventually become Gobisaurus were ignored for decades until they resurfaced during a travelling exhibit as part of the "Sino-Canadian Dinosaur Project" between 1990 and 1997 when the critter was affectionately, but unofficially, referred to as... "Gobisaurus".
Officially named in 2001, Gobisaurus shared its Early Cretaceous home with Shamosaurus, which also means "Gobi lizard" ("shamo" is an old Mongolian name for the Gobi). The two are close relatives within Ankylosauridae (the lumbering, low-slung, armoured batallion of dinosaurs), but they lived some five million years apart and differ in skull features, including the length of their upper jaw tooth row (25% of total skull length in the former, compared to 50% in the latter).
According to Arbour and Currie (2015), Zhongyuansaurus luoyangensis might be a synonym of Gobisaurus domoculus.
Officially named in 2001, Gobisaurus shared its Early Cretaceous home with Shamosaurus, which also means "Gobi lizard" ("shamo" is an old Mongolian name for the Gobi). The two are close relatives within Ankylosauridae (the lumbering, low-slung, armoured batallion of dinosaurs), but they lived some five million years apart and differ in skull features, including the length of their upper jaw tooth row (25% of total skull length in the former, compared to 50% in the latter).
According to Arbour and Currie (2015), Zhongyuansaurus luoyangensis might be a synonym of Gobisaurus domoculus.
Etymology
Discovery
The remains of Gobisaurus were discovered in the Ulansuhai (aka Suhongtu) Formation, approximately 60 km north of Chilantai (Jilantai) on the east side of Chilantai Salt Lake, Maortu, Alashan Desert, Nei Mongol Zizhique (Inner Mongolia), China, by Sino-Soviet Expeditions between 1959-1960.
The holotype (IVPP V12563) is a virtually complete skeleton, but only the skull—46cm in length and 45cm across—has been described thus far.
