@article{069e0132123740c4958dcd5d05628f3e,
title = "A new sauropodiform dinosaur with a {\textquoteleft}sauropodan{\textquoteright} skull from the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province, China",
abstract = "The Early Jurassic Lufeng Formation of Yunnan Province in southwestern China is one of the best fossil localities in the world for understanding the early radiation of sauropodomorph dinosaurs. It has yielded a rich assemblage of complete and three-dimensionally preserved skeletons of herbivorous dinosaurs that provide crucial morphological information for systematic and evolutionary studies. Here we describe a new taxon, Yizhousaurus sunae gen. et sp. nov., represented by a nearly complete skeleton with an exquisitely preserved skull and mandible. Yizhousaurus is distinguished from other non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs by a unique combination of plesiomorphic and apomorphic features, which increases our understanding of the anatomical variation on the relatively conservative {\textquoteleft}prosauropod{\textquoteright} cranial plan. Phylogenetic analysis resolves Yizhousaurus as a sauropodiform, showcasing a mosaic character suite combining plesiomorphic states in the postcranial skeleton with some more {\textquoteleft}sauropodan{\textquoteright}-like features in the skull. Furthermore, Yizhousaurus is placed closer to the base of Sauropoda than other non-sauropodan sauropodomorphs currently known from the Lufeng Formation, adding another taxon to enrich the Lower Jurassic Lufeng dinosaur fauna.",
author = "Zhang, {Qian Nan} and You, {Hai Lu} and Tao Wang and Sankar Chatterjee",
note = "Funding Information: The authors feel grateful to the staff of the Bureau of Land and Resources of Lufeng County and the Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley for excavating and restoring the fossil material. We extend a deep gratitude towards Xiao-Chun Wu and Ya-Ming Wang for valuable suggestions to improve the manuscript and lots of help during the field work. We are also appreciated to Wen-Qing Feng, Lu Li, and Shi-Gang Pan for supporting the field work, to Wei Gao for all the photographs in Figures 3–6 and S1–3, to Xiao-Cong Guo for the drawing in Figure 2A. We would also like to thank the editor and two reviewers, whose responsible and professional comments greatly promoted this submission. The research was financially supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDB26000000) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grants Nos 41472020 and 41688103), and the Bureau of Land and Resources of Lufeng County. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018, The Author(s).",
year = "2018",
month = dec,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1038/s41598-018-31874-9",
language = "English",
volume = "8",
journal = "Scientific reports",
issn = "2045-2322",
publisher = "Springer Science and Business Media LLC",
number = "1",
}