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The postcranial skeleton of Monolophosaurus jiangi (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the Middle Jurassic of Xinjiang, China, and a review of Middle Jurassic Chinese theropods

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

ZHAO XI-JIN ,
ROGER B. J. BENSON ,
STEPHEN L. BRUSATTE  and
PHILIP J. CURRIE
ZHAO XI-JIN
Affiliation:
Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 643, Beijing 100044, People's Republic of China
ROGER B. J. BENSON*
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, UK Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
STEPHEN L. BRUSATTE
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RJ, UK
PHILIP J. CURRIE
Affiliation:
University of Alberta, Biological Sciences CW405, Edmonton, Alberta T6G 2N9, Canada
*
†Author for correspondence: rbb27@cam.ac.uk
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Abstract

The Middle Jurassic was a critical time in the evolution of theropod dinosaurs, highlighted by the origination and radiation of the large-bodied and morphologically diverse Tetanurae. Middle Jurassic tetanurans are rare but have been described from Europe, South America and China. In particular, China has yielded a number of potential basal tetanurans, but these have received little detailed treatment in the literature. Here we redescribe the postcranial skeleton of one of the most complete Chinese Middle Jurassic theropods, Monolophosaurus. Several features confirm the tetanuran affinities of Monolophosaurus, but the possession of ‘primitive’ traits such as a double-faceted pubic peduncle of the ilium and a hood-like supracetabular crest suggest a basal position within Tetanurae. This conflicts with most published cladistic analyses that place Monolophosaurus in a more derived position within Allosauroidea. We review the Middle Jurassic record of Chinese theropods and compare Monolophosaurus to other Middle Jurassic theropods globally. These comparisons suggest that Monolophosaurus and Chuandongocoelurus formed an endemic theropod clade limited to the Middle Jurassic of Asia. Other Middle Jurassic Chinese theropods deserve further study.

Keywords

MonolophosaurustheropoddinosaurShishougou FormationChinese theropods
Type
Original Article
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 147 , Issue 1 , January 2010 , pp. 13 - 27
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

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