Pronunciation: JEEN-tah-SOR-us
Meaning: Jin-ta Lizard
Author/s: You and Li (2009)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Gansu, China
Acta Ordinal: #704
Jintasaurus meniscus
Jintasaurus is a small Early Cretaceous iguanodontian discovered in the Xinminpu Group of Gansu Province, China. Known only from the rear portion of a skull, this rare specimen preserves a distinctive suite of features—most notably its long, crescent-shaped "paroccipital processes" that sweep downward behind the braincase. These paired pendant structures, which anchor attachment points for neck-stabilizing muscles, are unusually long for an early hadrosauriform and mark it as one of the more derived ornithopods of its time.
Despite its fragmentary nature, Jintasaurus occupies a pivotal evolutionary position. Phylogenetic analyses place it just outside Hadrosauroidea, making it one of the closest known non-hadrosauroid relatives of the duck-billed dinosaurs.
Despite its fragmentary nature, Jintasaurus occupies a pivotal evolutionary position. Phylogenetic analyses place it just outside Hadrosauroidea, making it one of the closest known non-hadrosauroid relatives of the duck-billed dinosaurs.
(Crescent Jin-ta Lizard)Etymology
Jintasaurus is derived from the Chinese "Jin-ta" ("Golden Temple") referring to the county in which it was discovered, and the Greek "sauros" (lizard). The species epithet, meniscus, means "crescent" in Latin, and refers to the shape of two of its skull bones (paroccipital processes).
Discovery
The remains of Jintasaurus were discovered in the Xinminpu Group, Yujingzy Basin, Jinta County, Jiuquan area, Gansu Province, China, by a field crew from the Fossil Research and Development Center (FRDC) of the Third Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration Academy of the Gansu Provincial Bureau of Geo-Exploration and Mineral Development, in 2006.
The holotype (FRDC: GJ 06-2-52) is a partial skull.
Preparators
The same field crew that discovered the specimen also excavated and prepared it.
