Kaijiangosaurus

Name: Kaijiangosaurus ‭(‬Kaijiang lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: Ky-jee-ang-o-sore-us.
Named By: He‭ ‬-‭ ‬1984.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Theropoda,‭ ‬Megalosauridae‭?
Species: K.‭ ‬lini‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Carnivore.
Size: Uncertain due to lack of remains.
Known locations: China,‭ ‬Sichuan Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Lower Shaximiao Formation.
Time period: Bathonian to Callovian of the Jurassic.
Fossil representation: Fragmentary skull,‭ ‬cervical‭ (‬neck‭) ‬vertebrae,‭ ‬partial pectoral girdle and incomplete limbs.

       Kaijiangosaurus is only known from very fragmentary remains,‭ ‬so it is difficult to establish exactly where it belongs in relation with other dinosaurs.‭ ‬Further remains have been attributed to the genus but are currently undescribed,‭ ‬but some palaeontologists have leaned towards a classification within the Megalosauridae‭ (‬the theropod dinosaur group typified by Megalosaurus‭)‬.‭
       Interestingly another theropod dinosaur from the same formation called Gasosaurus has been speculated to be the same as Kaijiangosaurus.‭ ‬If true then Gasosaurus would be reclassified as a synonym to Kaijiangosaurus because it was named a year later and under standard international rules governing the naming of animals,‭ ‬the older name has priority.

Further reading
- The vertebrate fossils of Sichuan. - Sichuan Scientific and Technological Publishing House, Chengdu. 40: 1-168. - He Xinlu - 1984.


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