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A farmer in China fell on fossils more than a decade ago, which led to a dig, which led to an awareness: It's time to rethink the story evolutionary of some of the biggest dinosaurs that have walked. ] In a study published this week in the scientific journal Nature Communications, paleontologists said that they had discovered the first diplodocoid and the only one to be found in East Asia
Diplodocoids are part of subspecies sauropods – the one known for these big eaters of four-legged, long-necked plants. The fossils in China belonged to a species until then unknown, Lingwulong shenqi, and are about 174 million years old. "This means that in fact, a lot of different sauropod groups have evolved much earlier than previously thought," said Philip Mannion, paleontologist at the University of Ottawa. Imperial College London and one of the authors of the study
This also means that diplodocoids have made their way to East Asia before the continents – once a giant mass called Pangea – s' distance from each other.
The fossils of Lingwulong shenqi or the "amazing Lingwu dragon" in Mandarin, were discovered near the city of Lingwu in northwestern China. It was an amazing discovery: at least seven dinosaurs had died close to each other, giving scientists plenty of material to work.
The study was conducted by Xu Xing of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, a paleontologist known for his groundbreaking discoveries.
"It was thought that Diplodocus neosauropods never arrived in East Asia because this region was cut off from the rest of the world by the Jurassic routes, so that China developed its own fauna of separate dinosaurs ". said in a statement from University College London, who was involved in the study.
"However, Lingwulong shows that these Diplodocus-type sauropods were present after all, and implies that the isolation of East Asia was less deep" "
Lingwulong shenqi n & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; & nbsp; It was not as big as some of its sauropod cousins, such as Apatosaurus or Diplodocus. His neck was shorter and he seemed to be between 35 and 55 feet long from head to tail.
Sauropods proliferated in the Upper Jurassic, but the discovery of Lingwulong shenqi in Middle Jurassic rocks suggests that sauropod species began to diverge much earlier than we thought. And this raises a new question: Does this "amazing dragon" have siblings, in Asia or elsewhere, who have never been seen?
"It's so exciting because it means that we have a lot more to discover," said Mathew Wedel, a paleontologist and sauropod expert who was not part of the study. All this missing story is here. He is waiting to be found. We just have to get those Middle Jurassic rocks. We have to look harder. "
This week's study follows another paper about a herbivorous giant, on all fours – the Ingentia prima, who also lived earlier than expected." now Lingwulong shenqi has opened a new line of research and exploration.
"This suggests that we have significant gaps," said Dr. Mannion, adding that it will take many more discoveries before humans can trace the branches of the sauropod family tree completely
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