Xu X, Wang X L, You H L
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, PO Box 643, 142 Xizhimenwai Street, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China.
Naturwissenschaften. 2001 Jul;88(7):297-300. doi: 10.1007/s001140100233.
Juvenile ankylosaur specimens are very rare. A new ankylosaur, Liaoningosaurus paradoxus gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a beautifully preserved juvenile ankylosaur specimen from the famous Yixian Formation of Liaoning, China. Liaoningosaurus has a large bony plate (somewhat shell-like) shielding the abdomen. This discovery represents the first record of such a structure among dinosaurs. Although it has a number of distinct features seen in the family Ankylosauridae, a cladistic analysis placed Liaoningosaurus in the sister-family Nodosauridae. The 'intermediate' status of this taxon between the two ankylosaur families further supports the monophyly of Ankylosauria. This finding also documents the smallest known ankylosaur specimen and first complete nodosaurid specimen from Asia.
幼年甲龙标本非常罕见。基于在中国辽宁著名的义县组发现的一具保存精美的幼年甲龙标本，描述了一种新的甲龙——奇异辽宁龙（Liaoningosaurus paradoxus），属名及种名均为新创。辽宁龙有一块巨大的骨板（有点像壳）保护着腹部。这一发现代表了恐龙中这种结构的首次记录。尽管它具有甲龙科的一些独特特征，但系统发育分析将辽宁龙置于姐妹科结节龙科中。这个分类单元在两个甲龙科之间的“中间”地位进一步支持了甲龙类的单系性。这一发现还记录了已知最小的甲龙标本以及亚洲首个完整的结节龙科标本。
