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第48 卷摇第1期
2010 年1月摇摇摇摇摇摇摇 古 脊 椎 动 物 学 报
VERTEBRATA PALASIATICA 摇摇摇摇摇摇摇摇摇摇 pp.11 -18
摇 figs.1 -3
中国上白垩统窃蛋龙科一新属种
(兽脚类:窃蛋龙类)1)
徐摇星1摇韩凤禄1,2
(1 中国科学院古脊椎动物与古人类研究所,脊椎动物进化系统学重点实验室摇北京摇 100044)
(2 中国科学院研究生院摇北京摇 100049)
摘要:根据可能发现于江 西赣 州晚白 垩世 南雄组 地层中 一件标 本报道 了窃蛋 龙科一 新属
种———斑嵴龙。新标本具有以下不同于其他窃蛋龙属种的特征:由前颌骨和鼻骨形成的脊冠
具有阶梯状的后端,表面有两个纵向的沟槽和许多倾斜的条痕;外鼻孔延长,其后侧与眶骨相
近;翼骨腭骨支背缘有一深窝;齿骨后背缘有纵向沟槽;上隅骨前背缘有小结节。斑嵴龙腭部
和下颌的一些特征不同于窃蛋龙科的其他属种,但近似于更原始的窃蛋龙类。这些特征表明
斑嵴龙代表窃蛋龙科中相对原始的一个属种。这一系统发育假说得到了定量的系统发育分
析的支持。斑嵴龙的发现不仅增加了晚白垩世窃蛋龙科的分异度,而且为这一类群的特征演
化提供了重要信息。
关键词:中国;晚白垩世;窃蛋龙科,兽脚类
中图法分类号:Q915. 864摇 文献标识码:A摇 文章编号:1000-3118(2010)01 -0011-08
A NEW OVIRAPTORID DINOSAUR (THEROPODA:
OVIRAPTOROSAURIA)FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS OF CHINA
XU Xing1摇 HAN Feng鄄Lu1 ,2
(1 Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates,Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology,
摇Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100044 xingxu@ vip. sina. com)
(2 Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing 100049)
Abstract摇 Here we report a new oviraptorid taxon based on a specimen possibly collected from the Up鄄
per Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Ganzhou, Jiangxi, China. This new taxon is distinguishable from
other species based on the following features: a crest formed by the premaxillae and nasals having a
step鄄wise posterior end and bearing two longitudinal grooves and numerous oblique striations on each of
its lateral surfaces, an extremely elongate external naris that is posteriorly situated and close to the or鄄
bit, a deep fossa on the dorsal surface of the palatal ramus of the pterygoid, several longitudinal grooves
along the posterior part of the dorsal margin of the dentary, and several tubercles along the lateral shelf
at the dorsal margin of the surangular. This new taxon possesses some palatal and mandibular features
not seen in other oviraptorids but similar to those in more basal oviraptorosaurs, suggesting a relatively
basal position for this taxon within the Oviraptoridae. This systematic hypothesis is supported by a nu鄄
merical cladistic analysis. This discovery not only adds to the known diversity of Late Cretaceous ovirap鄄
torids, but provides significant new information on the evolution of some oviraptorid features.
Key words摇 China; Late Cretaceous; Oviraptoridae, Theropoda
1) 中国科学院百人计划,中国科学院、国家外国专家局创新团队国际合作伙伴计划和国家自然科学基金重点项目
(编号:40830210) 资助。
摇收稿日期:2009-09 -18
12摇摇摇 古摇脊摇椎摇动摇物摇学摇报48 卷
1摇 Introduction
The oviraptorids are a theropod group in which the skull and mandible are highly modified.
Oviraptorids are characterized by a short snout, the absence of teeth, a tall mandible, a long pa鄄
rietal, an enlarged tooth鄄like process on the palate, and a large, anteriorly located external man鄄
dibular fenestra (Osm佼lska et al., 2004). Ten oviraptorid taxa have been reported from Late Cre鄄
taceous deposits in Asia, including Oviraptor philoceratops from the Djadokhta Formation of Bayn
Dzak, Mongolia (Osborn, 1924), Ingenia yanshini and Conchoraptor gracilis from the Barun
Goyot Formation of Hermiin Tsav, Mongolia ( Barsbold, 1981, 1986) , Rinchenia mongoliensis
from the Nemegt Formation of Hermiin Tsav ( Barsbold, 1986, 1997; Osm佼lska et al., 2004) ,
Citipati osmolskae and Khaan mckennai from the Djadokhta Formation of Ukhaa Tolgod, Mongolia
(Clark et al., 2001, 2002), Heyuannia huangi from the Dalangshan Formation of Guangdong
Province, China (L俟, 2002, 2005), Nemegtomaia barsboldi from the Nemegt Formation of the
Nemegt locality, Mongolia (L俟 et al., 2004, 2005) , Shixinggia oblita from the Pingling Forma鄄
tion of Shixing County, Guangdong Province, China (L俟 and Zhang, 2005), and Luoyanggia liu鄄
dianensis from the lower Upper Cretaceous “Mangchuan Formation冶, Henan Province, China
(L俟 et al., 2009). Here we briefly describe a nearly complete skull and mandible possibly from
the Upper Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of the Hongcheng Basin near Ganzhou City, Jiangxi
Province, which represents a new oviraptorid taxon. A specimen preserving an embryonic ovi鄄
raptorid skeleton has been reported from the same basin ( Cheng et al., 2008 ) , but lacks
informative cranial features that can be compared with our specimen.
2摇 Systematic paleontology
Theropoda Marsh,1881
摇 Oviraptorosauria Barsbold,1976
摇 摇 Oviraptoridae Barsbold,1976
摇摇摇Banji long gen. et sp. nov.
摇摇Holotype摇 IVPP V 16896 (housed in the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleo鄄
anthropology, Beijing), a nearly complete skull and mandible.
Type locality and horizon摇 The specimen was acquired from an amateur collector who is
not willing to reveal his identity. The only information concerning the provenance of the speci鄄
men provided by this collector is that the specimen was collected in the Hongcheng Basin near
Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province. The red beds exposed in the Hongcheng Basin are normally
correlated with the Upper Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation (Sato et al., 2005).
Etymology摇 Genus name from ‘ ban爷 , speckle, but sometimes referring to stripes in Chi鄄
nese, and ‘ji爷, crest; refers to the animal爷 s bearing a crest with distinctive striations over the
snout. The species name ‘long爷 is a transliteration of the Chinese word for dragon.
Diagnosis摇 An oviraptorid distinguishable from other species based on the following fea鄄
tures: a crest formed by the premaxillae and nasals having a step鄄wise posterior end and bearing
two longitudinal grooves and numerous oblique striations on each of its lateral surfaces, an ex鄄
tremely elongate external naris that is posteriorly situated and close to the orbit, a deep fossa on
the dorsal surface of the palatal ramus of the pterygoid, several longitudinal grooves along the
posterior part of the dorsal margin of the dentary, and several tubercles along the lateral shelf at
the dorsal margin of the surangular.
3摇 Description and comparison
The specimen is small (about 65 mm in basal skull length)(Fig. 1), and the lack of ex鄄
1期 徐摇星等:中国上白垩统窃蛋龙科一新属种(兽脚类:窃蛋龙类)13摇摇摇
Fig. 1摇 Photographs of the Banji long gen. et sp. nov., holotype, IVPP V 16896
Skull and mandible in left (A) and right (B) lateral views
Abbreviations: aof. antorbital fossa 眶前窝; an. angular 隅骨; cre. crest 脊冠; d. dentary 齿骨; ec. ec鄄
topterygoid 外翼骨; emf. external mandibular fenestra 外下颌孔; fp. fossa on pterygoid 翼骨上的小 窝;
fr. frontal 额骨; gpn. grooves on premaxilla and nasal 前颌骨和鼻骨上的沟槽; grd. grooves and ridges
on dentary 齿骨上形成的沟槽和脊; gs. grooves on surangular 上隅骨上的沟槽; j. jugal 颧骨; l. lacri鄄
mal 泪骨; mxf. maxillary fenestra 上颌孔; n. nasal 鼻骨; nar. naris 鼻孔; p. parietal 顶骨; pm. pre鄄
maxilla 前颌骨; po. postorbital 眶后骨; pt. pterygoid 翼骨; q. quadrate 方骨; sa. surangular 上隅骨;
saf. surangular foramen 上隅骨孔; snfo. subnarial fossa 鼻下窝; sq. squamosal 鳞骨; ts. tubercles on
surangular 上隅骨上的突起
14摇摇摇 古摇脊摇椎摇动摇物摇学摇报48 卷
pected fusions among some cranial and mandibular bones (the articular and basioccipital are
separated from the surangular and exoccipital, respectively) suggests that it is probably a juve鄄
nile individual. However, the left and right nasals are fused to each other without any trace of a
suture, as are the contralateral frontals, parietals, and probably dentaries. These fusions indi鄄
cate that IVPP V 16896 had probably matured beyond an early juvenile ontogenetic stage.
Banji has a typical oviraptorid skull profile ―the skull is short and tall, with a short snout
(Clark et al., 2002; Osm佼lska et al., 2004). The large external naris is high and posterior in
position (posterior margin near the orbit), extremely elongate ( long axis nearly three times
length of short axis) , and surrounded by several distinctive pneumatic fossae (Figs. 1, 2). The
small antorbital fossa contains an anteroposteriorly narrow antorbital fenestra and a large sub鄄tri鄄
angular maxillary fenestra (Figs. 1B; 2) . As in other oviraptorids (Osm佼lska et al., 2004), a
large infratemporal fenestra is present. The premaxillae and nasals form a crest with a stepwise
posterior end. Each lateral surface of the crest bears two longitudinal grooves and numerous dis鄄
tinctive, oblique striations, in addition to several pneumatic fossae (Figs. 1B; 2).
Fig. 2摇 A reconstruction of Banji long gen. et sp. nov. in lateral view, based on the holotype IVPP V 16896
Abbreviations: afe. antorbital fenestra 眶前孔; d. dentary 齿骨; gpn. grooves on the premaxillae and na鄄
sals 前颌骨和鼻骨上的沟槽; grd. grooves and ridges on dentary 齿骨上沟槽和脊; itf. infratemporal fe鄄
nestra 下颞孔; j. jugal 颧骨; l. lacrimal 泪骨; mxf. maxillary fossa 上颌骨窝; nar. naris 鼻孔; or. or鄄
bit 眼眶; p. parietal 顶骨; pm. premaxillae 前颌骨; pnf. pneumatic fossae 气腔窝; po. postorbital 眶后
骨; saf. surangular fenestra 上隅骨孔; snf. subnarial fossa 鼻下窝; ts. tubercles on surangular 上隅骨结节
The large premaxilla borders most of the external naris, apart from the posterodorsal end,
and also borders the anterior and anterodorsal margins of the antorbital fossa. A large distinctive
1期 徐摇星等:中国上白垩统窃蛋龙科一新属种(兽脚类:窃蛋龙类)15摇摇摇
subnarial fossa is present on the lateral surface of the premaxilla. As in other oviraptorids
(Clark et al., 2002; L俟 et al., 2004; Osm佼lska et al., 2004)(Figs. 1B; 2) , the frontal is an鄄
teroposteriorly short, whereas the parietal is long ( Fig. 1A) . There is a shallow longitudinal
groove rather than a sagittal crest along the midline of the fused parietals. The descending
process of the pneumatic lacrimal has strongly convex anterior and lateral surfaces ( Figs. 1A;
2) . The suborbital ramus of the jugal is slender and slightly flattened mediolaterally. As in Citi鄄
pati (Clark et al., 2002), it is perpendicular to the postorbital process, which is strongly up鄄
turned (Fig. 1A). The quadrate is very robust, and terminates ventrally in two large condyles
separated by an oblique groove (Fig. 1A). The occiput faces posterodorsally. Both the nuchal
transverse crest and the supraoccipital crest are weak. The paroccipital process is short and ven鄄
trally pendant. The palate exhibits several features intermediate in condition between basal ovi鄄
raptorosaurs and other oviraptorids. The pterygoid has an anteroposteriorly long palatal ramus in
comparison to other oviraptorids (Osm佼lska et al., 2004) , amounting to about one鄄third of the
basal skull length. There is a longitudinal trough along the dorsal surface of the palatal ramus,
the lateral border of which is formed by the pterygoid鄄ectopterygoid bar ( Fig. 1B) . Other ovi鄄
raptorids lack this feature, although they possess a trough along the ventral surface of the palatal
ramus ( Osm佼lska et al., 2004). A deep fossa is present on the medial wall of the dorsal trough
of Banji, a feature unknown in any other oviraptorosaur (Osm佼lska et al., 2004) ( Fig. 1B).
The long ectopterygoid lies anterolateral to the pterygoid, a condition intermediate between typi鄄
cal non鄄avian theropods and other oviraptorids ( Figs. 1B; 2) . The maxillary process of the ec鄄
topterygoid extends anteriorly and lacks a strong dorsal extension as in other oviraptorids
(Osm佼lska et al., 2004). This feature is consistent with the position of the vomer, which lies at
about the same level as most of the other palatal elements.
The mandible is massive, with an extremely anteriorly located mandibular fenestra, the an鄄
terior border of which even extends beyond the anteroventral corner of the dentary when the ven鄄
tral edge of this bone is horizontally oriented ( Figs. 1, 2). The symphyseal portion of the den鄄
tary is downturned in lateral view and U鄄shaped in ventral view. The dentary has a highly con鄄
vex dorsal margin, in contrast to the gentler convexity seen in more basal oviraptorosaurs such
as Incisivosaurus (Xu et al., 2002) and in therizinosaurs (Clark et al., 2004) . In most other
oviraptorids, the dentary has a concave anterodorsal margin in lateral view (Osm佼lska et al.,
2004) . A few sharp ridges and grooves are present on the posteriormost part of the dorsal mar鄄
gin of the dentary, and posterior to the coronoid process are several small but distinct tubercles
along the lateral shelf at the dorsal margin of the surangular (Figs. 1B; 2) These features have
not been reported in any other oviraptorosaur. Immediately posterior to the mandibular fenestra
is a prominent, well defined fossa, which contains several large foramina. Above the fossa is a
distinct groove along the dorsal margin of the surangular ( Fig. 1A) . A similar groove is also
known in Incisivosaurus (IVPP V 13326) and some maniraptorans, but in oviraptorids the dor鄄
sal edge of the surangular in this region is relatively narrow and rounded.
4摇 Discussion
Several discernible cranial features of IVPP V 16896 distinguish this specimen from other
known oviraptorid taxa. At least some of these distinctive features, such as the unique morpho鄄
logy of the crest, the deep fossa on the dorsal surface of the pterygoid palatal ramus, and the
deep groove along the dorsal margin of the surangular, are unlikely to be related to ontogeny.
Consequently we erect a new taxon to reflect this unique combination of cranial morphological
features, though future discoveries may demonstrate that the specimen belongs to an established
taxon currently known only from postcranial material.
Banji long is clearly an oviraptorid because it shares with other oviraptorids many unique
16摇摇摇 古摇脊摇椎摇动摇物摇学摇报48 卷
features, such as a tall, short snout, robust toothless jaws, a long parietal, and a large, anteri鄄
orly located external mandibular fenestra. Among known oviraptorids, several features of the
palate and mandible indicate that Banji long is probably relatively basal. Oviraptorids have a
peculiar palate unique among dinosaurs. Although Banji long has a palate very similar to that of
other oviraptorids, several palatal features are in an intermediate condition between more basal
oviraptorosaurs and typical oviraptorids. Relative to other oviraptorids, Banji long has a propor鄄
tionally longer palatal ramus of the pterygoid, and a less anteriorly located ectopterygoid that
lacks a strong dorsal extension. The vomer is also at about same horizontal level as the other
palatal elements, again in contrast to other oviraptorids. Banji long also resembles more basal
oviraptorosaurs in several mandibular features, such as the convex dorsal margin of the dentary
and the presence of a groove along the dorsal margin of the surangular. It is likely that some of
these features are ontogeny鄄related given the juvenile status of the only known Banji long speci鄄
men, but currently there are no available data to indicate which features this is most likely to
apply to.
Fig. 3摇 A phylogeny of oviraptorosaurs showing the systematic position of Banji long gen. et sp. nov.
The analysis resulted in 2 most parsimonious trees, each with a length of 299 steps (CI = 0. 64 and RI =
0. 70); values above nodes represent bootstrap proportions (% ); values beneath nodes represent Bremer
support, and values of +1 or less are not shown
In order to confirm this phylogenetic hypothesis, we further investigated the systematic po鄄
sition of Banji long using a dataset (Appendix 1) revised from a recently published one ( Xu et
al., 2007, which was in turn based on the analysis by Osm佼lska et al., 2004). Because ontoge鄄
netic variation is poorly understood in oviraptorids, we tentatively scored all features visible in
IVPP V 16896. However, it is possible that some of these scorings were influenced by ontogeny
and thus had a spurious effect on the results of the analysis. The data matrix was analyzed using
the NONA (ver 2. 0) software package (Goloboff, 1993) , and formatting and character explo鄄
ration were performed in WinClada ( Nixon, 1999 ). The analysis protocol consisted of 1000
Tree Bisection and Regrafting tree searches followed by branch swapping. Settings included col鄄
lapsing unsupported branches and counting all states in polymorphic codings. Other settings,
including character ordering, follow Osm佼lska et al. (2004). The analysis resulted in 2 most
parsimonious trees, the strict consensus of which is shown in Fig. 3. The relatively basal posi鄄
1期 徐摇星等:中国上白垩统窃蛋龙科一新属种(兽脚类:窃蛋龙类)17摇摇摇
tion of Banji long is confirmed by our analysis, which shows that Banji long is the most basal
oviraptorid apart from Gigantoraptor.
As a relatively basal oviraptorid from the Late Cretaceous of southern China, Banji long re鄄
presents an important addition to the known diversity of Late Cretaceous oviraptorids. Its discov鄄
ery provides significant new information concerning the morphological evolution of the group and
demonstrates the evolutionary sequence of some important oviraptorid features. A more detailed
morphological description, accompanied by a discussion of the possible implications for under鄄
standing oviraptorid ontogeny (Norell et al., 2001), will be presented elsewhere.
Acknowledgements摇 The authors thank X. Q. Ding for preparing the specimen, Z. K. Gai
for taking the photograph of Figure 1, R. S. Li for drawing Figure 2, C. Sullivan for editing
the ms, Dr. J. 鄄C. L俟 and an anonymous reviewer for valuable comments. This study was sup鄄
ported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Chinese Academy of Sciences,
and the National Ministry of Science and Technology.
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Appendix 1
1. Modified and newly added characters:
Character 61 of Osm佼lska et al., 2004:
Ectopterygoid position: lateral to (0) , anterolateral to (1) , or anterior to the pterygoid (2).
Character 162 (newly added) . Surangular, distinct groove on dorsal surface: present (0) or absent (1) .
Character 163 (newly added) . Vomer, position: level with (0) or ventral to (1 ) other palatal elements.
2. Character scorings for Banji long gen. et sp. nov. based on IVPP V 16896 and Nemegtomaia barsboldi
10 20 30 40 50
Banji long 11?210111? ??01111021 2111111101 1??11101?? ??0??11?11
Nemegtomaia barsboldi 1112221111 11011110?1 ?1?1111?11 1?110101?? ??1?1112?1
60 70 80 90 100
Banji long 11???????? 1111121?01 11??11?212 1??000110? ???11?121?
Nemegtomaia barsboldi 111121??1? 1111121111 1111111211 1111001111 1111121211
110 120 130 140 150
Banji long 1????????? ?????????? ?????????? ?????????? ??????????
Nemegtomaia barsboldi 110111???? ??????1??? ?????????? ????100021 ?00?????1?
160
Banji long ?????????? 摇 ?00
Nemegtomaia barsboldi ?????????? ?11
