[D] Daxiatitan binglingi [sG] [T]
Describer
You, Li, Zhou and Ji Q. 2008
Time
Cretaceous Early
Classification
Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Titanosauria
Diet
Herbivore
Fossilsite
Lanzhou Basin, Hekou Group, Gansu Province, China
Info
Etymology
\\\"Daxia\\\" (Chinese): name of a branch of the Yellow River runs along Linxia area of Gansu Province where the fossils were discovered. \\\"Titan\\\" (Greek): refers to Greek mythological giants, symbolic of its great size. - \\\"Bingling\\\" (Tibetan): one hondred thousand Buddhas, refering to Bingling Temple, a famous attraction near the Liujiaxia Dam along the Yellow River, about 80 km southwest of Lanzhou, the capital city of Gansu Province.
Holotype
GSLTZP03-001: caudalmost 10 cervical vertebrae, 10 dorsal vertebrae, two proximal caudal vertebrae, partial cervical and dorsal ribs, one hermal arch, right scapula, right coracoid, and right femur. Reposited in the Fossil Research and Development Center (FRDC) of the Third Geology and Mineral Resources Exploration Academy of Gansu Province in Lanzhou.
Type locality and horizon
Southeastern part of Lanzhou Basin, Gansu Province, P.R. China: Hekou Group, Lower Cretaceous (Editorial Committee of Chinese Stratigraphic Standard: Cretaceous 2000)
Diagnosis
Daxiatitan is a basal member of Titanosauria (definition following Upchurch et al (2004): a stem-based taxon defined as Titanosauriforms more closely related to Saltasaurus than to Brachiosaurus) distinguished from others in having cervical vertebrae whose cranial prezygapophyseal articular facets are offset caudally such that nonarticular bone comprises the cranialmost portions of the prezygapophysis; distal margin of scapular body lies oblique relative to its long axis; femoral distal condyles beveled ~10o dorsolaterally with respect to femoral shaft; and femoral distal condyles directed caudomedially-craniolaterally in distal view.