Pronunciation: SHOO-no-SOR-us
Meaning: Sichuan lizard
Author/s: Dong, Zhou and Zhang (1983)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Sichuan, China
Discovery Chart Position: #305
Shunosaurus lii
As far as true sauropods go, Shunosaurus was relatively small, which could be brushed off as island dwarfism if it actually lived on an island. But it didn't. It lived alongside the larger, huge-toothed Datousaurus and the long-necked, treetop-hogging Omeisaurus near Dashanpu, so it's more than likely that Mother Nature simply ushered Shunosaurus into a vacant eco-niche where a smaller size, shorter neck, and many cylindrical but chisel-tipped teeth could take advantage of lower-lying vegetation.
Its modest size all but guaranteed unwanted attention from the local apex predator: it's the nature of the beast to single out an easy target. But once again, Mother Nature came to the rescue with a feature not often seen in herbivores of the non-ankylosaurid variety, and adorned its tail with a huge club of fused bone, plus a couple of spikes for good measure.
The only other sauropod with a similar feature is Spinophorosaurus, though its tail was more spikey and less clubby, and such weapons would do much to ensure their owners weren't torn limb from limb by hungry hunters during life. However, no weapon can ward off the effects of Old Father Time, so it's quite a thing that Shunosaurus and Spinophorosaurus are the most complete Middle Jurassic sauropods known from anywhere, and, although currently assigned to two different families, they probably deserve their own group within Eusauropoda, united by the presence of their weaponised tails.
Its modest size all but guaranteed unwanted attention from the local apex predator: it's the nature of the beast to single out an easy target. But once again, Mother Nature came to the rescue with a feature not often seen in herbivores of the non-ankylosaurid variety, and adorned its tail with a huge club of fused bone, plus a couple of spikes for good measure.
The only other sauropod with a similar feature is Spinophorosaurus, though its tail was more spikey and less clubby, and such weapons would do much to ensure their owners weren't torn limb from limb by hungry hunters during life. However, no weapon can ward off the effects of Old Father Time, so it's quite a thing that Shunosaurus and Spinophorosaurus are the most complete Middle Jurassic sauropods known from anywhere, and, although currently assigned to two different families, they probably deserve their own group within Eusauropoda, united by the presence of their weaponised tails.
(Li's Sichuan lizard)Etymology
Shunosaurus is derived from "Shu" (an old name for the Sichuan region of China where the original specimens were found) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard). The species epithet, lii, honours hydrologist Li Bing, the magistrate who governed the Qin State of what is now Sichuan Province from 256 to 251 BC. He was particularly celebrated for his flood control measures along the Minjiang River, which included the construction of the famed Dujiang irrigation system.
Discovery
The first remains of Shunosaurus were discovered at a road bank by a group of students who were practising their palaeontological excavation technique in the Lower Shaximiao (Xiashaximiao) Formation near Dashanpu, Zigong, Sichuan Province, China, in 1977.
The holotype (IVPP V.9065-1-23) is a partial spinal column and pelvis, but 94% of the critter is now known thanks to twenty-odd complete or near-complete skeletons and skulls, including a well-preserved juvenile (CLGPR V00007) from Pu’an Town in Yunyang County.
Preparator
Yuqing Zhang (CLGPR V00007)
