Chilantaisaurus zheziangensis, 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 : 8

Chilantaisaurus zheziangensis sp. nov.

Description: A right proximal tibia is preserved that is gray-white in coloration. The walls of the shaft are extremely thick, and the cnemial crest is laterally projected causing the triangular shape of the proximal end. Incomplete metatarsals II, III, and IV are preserved but are not fused as in the condition of the Tyrannosauridae , are also not modified in morphology, and the phalangeal formula is not completely reduced. The unguals are large, the first ungual is flattened, recurved, and morphologically resembles Chilantaisaurus tashuikouensis from Inner Mongolia in its robusticity, intense symmetrical curvature, extremely acute end, extreme lateral compression, distinct lateral ligament groove on each side, and its consistency in size.

Comparison and discussion: In general morphology, this large carnosaur is more robust than Antrodemus valens from North America. Its primitive (unfused) metatarsals allow a diagnosis to the Megalosauridae , and its massive laterally compressed unguals resemble the Asian genus Chilantaisaurus although these are slightly more robust than on the Inner Mongolian genus. Thus morphologically and biogeographically it probably represents a new species and is thus erected as Chilantaisaurus zheziangensis .

This genus is currently represented at two stratigraphic levels: the late Early Cretaceous C. maortuensis and the early Late Cretaceous C. tashuikouensis. Because of its primitive characters, C. zheziangensis indicates that the Fangyan Fm. is more appropriately recognized as late Early Cretaceous and is thus correlated with the Early Cretaceous Alashan Fauna, or Aptian-Albian Stage.