A new genus and species of eusauropod dinosaur has been identified from a fossilized partial skeleton with a nearly complete skull found in the Chinese province of Gansu.
Skull of Jinchuanloong niedu in left lateral view. Image credit: Li et al., doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03210-5.
The newly-identified dinosaur species roamed our planet during the Middle Jurassic period, some 165 million years ago.
Dubbed Jinchuanloong niedu, it is an early-diverging member of a group of long-necked, strictly herbivorous, quadrupedal dinosaurs called Eusauropoda.
“Sauropod dinosaurs were gigantic quadrupedal herbivores, ranging from the Early Jurassic to Late Cretaceous, and have been found on all continents,” Dr. Ning Li from the China University of Geosciences and colleagues wrote in their paper.
“Due to the global warming event in the late Early Jurassic, eusauropods were the only surviving sauropod lineage subsequently.”
“In the Middle and Late Jurassic, the non-neosauropod eusauropod became dominant, represented by Shunosaurus, Omeisaurus, and ‘core Mamenchisaurus-like taxa’.”
The fossilized remains of Jinchuanloong niedu were collected from the lower part of the Xinhe Formation near Jinchang city, Gansu province, northwestern China.
The specimen includes a nearly complete skull with mandible, five cervical vertebrae appressed with the skull and 29 articulated caudal vertebrae.
Jinchuanloong niedu’s skull is approximately 31 cm long and 12.5 cm tall.
A sauropod dinosaur chased by two carnivorous dinosaurs. Image credit: Lida Xing.
“The complete skulls are rare in non-neosauropod eusauropods due to their fragility,” the paleontologists wrote.
“The skull of Jinchuanloong niedu is very well preserved and nearly complete.”
“The left side of the skull has been deformed by a lateromedial compression.”
“Most cranial sutures are readily visible in Jinchuanloong niedu,” they added.
According to the authors, Jinchuanloong niedu is the earliest sauropod found in the province of Gansu.
“Jinchuanloong niedu enriches the diversity of the early diverging sauropods,” they concluded.
“It also provides additional information to help understand the evolutionary history of sauropods in northwest China.”
The paper was published on May 23 in the journal Scientific Reports.
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N. Li et al. 2025. A new eusauropod (Dinosauria, Sauropodomorpha) from the Middle Jurassic of Gansu, China. Sci Rep 15, 17936; doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-03210-5
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