Sinocoelurus (meaning "Chinese hollow tail", in reference to location and to relate the new genus to the North American Coelurus) is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the Oxfordian-?Tithonian-age Upper Jurassic Kyangyan Series of Sichuan, China. It is an obscure tooth taxon.

Sinocoelurus
Temporal range: Upper Jurassic, 160 Ma
Tooth
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Theropoda
Genus: Sinocoelurus
Yang, 1942
Species:
S. fragilis
Binomial name
Sinocoelurus fragilis
Yang, 1942

History

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In 1942, the Chinese paleontologist Yang Zhongjian (in older references his name is given as C. C. Young) named this genus from IVP AS V232-234, a group of four isolated partial teeth found near Weiyuan, Guangyuan, Sichuan Basin. He described them as "long, slender, moderately curved and compressed; ridged anterior and posterior sides with no trace of serrations; enamel very thin".[1] He considered the genus to be "coelurosaurian", which at that time meant a small theropod. The most distinctive characteristic of these teeth was their lack of serrations.[2]

Because of the small amount of material, Sinocoelurus has attracted little attention since its description, outside of reviews. It is usually considered a nomen dubium of either coelurosaurian\coelurid affinities (if the source predates the acceptance of Coelurosauria as a wastebasket taxon as traditionally used), or uncertain theropod affinities (if published after this). The most recent review classifies it as Tetanurae incertae sedis and dubious,[3] while Wu et al. (2009) presume it belongs to a plesiosaur;[4] either way, Sinocoelurus was a reptile.

Paleobiology

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As a small theropod, Sinocoelurus would have been an agile, bipedal carnivore.

References

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  1. ^ Glut, D.F. (1997). "Sinocoelurus". Dinosaurs: The Encyclopedia. McFarland & Company. p. 825. ISBN 978-0-89950-917-4.
  2. ^ Yang Zhongjian. (1942). Fossil vertebrates from Kuangyuan, N. Szechuan, China. Bulletin of the Geological Society of China 22(3-4):293-309.
  3. ^ Holtz Jr.; T.R., Molnar, R.E & Currie, P.J. (2004). "Basal Tetanurae". The Dinosauria (second ed.). University of California Press. pp. 71–110. ISBN 978-0-520-24209-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ X.-C. Wu, P. J. Currie, Z. Dong, S. Pan, and T. Wang. (2009). A new theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Lufeng, Yunnan, China. Acta Geologica Sinica 83(1):9-24