Pronunciation: toon-GAH-no-SOR-us
Meaning: Tong'an lizard
Author/s: Li et al. (2010)
Synonyms: None known
First Discovery: Sichuan, China
Discovery Chart Position: #717
Tonganosaurus hei
Siimilar to but more "primitive" than the mamenchisaurid Omeisaurus, Tonganosaurus is the first sauropod discovery from the Lower Jurassic of China since Gongxianosaurus in 1998 which, funnily enough, was also from Sichuan.
Its remains are meagre, ammounting to just twenty vertebrae, a front limb and pectoral girdle, a hind limb and partial hip. But they were bolstered in 2015 by a 70% complete second specimen, discovered over a decade earlier and kept secret until the conditions were suitable for excavations. Unfortunately, it has't been officially described yet.
Sauropod tracks (Brontopodus) have been attributed to Tonganosaurus based on their close proximity to the latter's discovery site at Tongbao Village in Sichuan Province, and these, plus the non-sauropod sauropodomorph tracks (Liujianpus), possibly made by Lufengosaurus from Yunnan, provides evidence of the co-existence of primitive sauropods and basal sauropodomorphs in Southwest China during Early Jurassic period.
Its remains are meagre, ammounting to just twenty vertebrae, a front limb and pectoral girdle, a hind limb and partial hip. But they were bolstered in 2015 by a 70% complete second specimen, discovered over a decade earlier and kept secret until the conditions were suitable for excavations. Unfortunately, it has't been officially described yet.
Sauropod tracks (Brontopodus) have been attributed to Tonganosaurus based on their close proximity to the latter's discovery site at Tongbao Village in Sichuan Province, and these, plus the non-sauropod sauropodomorph tracks (Liujianpus), possibly made by Lufengosaurus from Yunnan, provides evidence of the co-existence of primitive sauropods and basal sauropodomorphs in Southwest China during Early Jurassic period.
(Hei's Tongan Lizard)Etymology
Tonganosaurus is derived from "Tong'an" (the town where it was discovered) and the Greek "sauros" (lizard). The species epithet, hei, honors He Xinlu "who spent a lifetime in diosaur research".
Discovery
Tonganosaurus hails from the Yimen Formation at Tongbao Village, Tong'an Town, Huili County, Panxi region, Sichuan Province, China.The holotype (MCDUT 14454) consists of twenty vertebrae, a front limb and pectoral girdle, and a complete hind limb with partial hip. Many more fossils have since been excavated but have yet to be described.
