Tyrannosaurus luanchuanensis, Dong, Zhiming, 1979

Dong, Zhiming, 1979, Dinosaurs from the Cretaceous of South China, Mesozoic and Cenozoic Red Beds of South China: Selected Papers from the " Cretaceous-Tertiary Workshop ", Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology & Nanjing Institute of Paleontology, Nanxiong, China: Science Press, pp. 342-350 : 7

Tyrannosaurus luanchuanensis sp. nov.

(Plate III, Figure 3 )

Description: Five extremely well-preserved teeth are represented that have black-red coloration and are massive with slight curvature. The largest specimen is 110 mm. Among the five specimens is a premaxillary tooth with two parallel serrated margins, tending to be incisiform. The remaining characters resemble those of the North American forms, thus their unqualified generic assignment. Despite the evidence consisting only of a few teeth, they undoubtedly belong to the Asian Tyrannosauridae and thus they are erected as Tyrannosaurus luanchuanensis sp. nov.

In 1974, during their work in western Henan, the Henan Regional Survey documented dinosaur eggs in the Xixia and Xichuan basins from a set of red sandstones that they erected as the Majiacun Fm. (previously, these sediments were provided with nomenclature from neighboring Hubei Province: the Paomagang Fm.). In addition to eggs, hadrosaurian cervical and caudal vertebrae were documented (Plate I, Figs. 6, 7). Although the material is restricted, it is enough to confirm a Late Cretaceous age for the Majiacun Fm.

Prior to 1972 there were no reliable dinosaur specimens found regionally. But in recent years there have been consecutive discoveries made in the western Henan and eastern Hubei regions, although systematic excavations have yet to be conducted. Indications suggest that abundant dinosaur eggs are present.

Figures

Figure 3. Third dorsal vertebra of Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus (x 1 / 4)