Shanshanosaurus huoyanshanensis Dong 1977

Holtz, T. R., 2001, The phylogeny and taxonomy of the Tyrannosauridae, Mesozoic Vertebrate Life, Bloomington: Indiana University Press, pp. 64-83 : 71

Shanshanosaurus huoyanshanensis Dong 1977

: This small dinosaur is known only from apartial skull and associated postcrania from the Subashi Formation of the Turpan Basin, Xinjiang, People's Republic of China, a unit thought to be from the Maastrichtian Age by Lucas and Estep (1998). Paul (1988) and Olshevsky et al. (1995 a, b) considered it to be aublysodontine (in the present taxonomy). The material does document several tyrannosaurid synapomorphies, but because the premaxillary teeth are unknown all remaining similarities with Aublysodontinae are symplesiomorphies, and thus are not helpful in establishing positive phylogenetic relationships. When included in the analysis, it is found to lie as a tyrannosaurine more advanced than Alioramus in the possession of a reduced maxillary (45.1) and dentary (75.1)tooth count: at 8 and 12, respectively, these values are as iow or lower than Tyrannosaurus rex .If a tyrannosaurid, however, it is the only form with a retroarticular process (-13.0) and with somewhat procoelous cervical vertebrae (89.1).