New Data on Coal, Gypsum, Iron and Silica Sand Deposits and Geochemical Exploration (Pakistan): Revision of 25 Years History of Dinosaur Discoveries from Pakistan

Discoveries of many coal seams at depths by drilling carried by Geological Survey of Pakistan in Sor Range and Harnai Gochina, extended the coal seams at depth which is challenge for mine owners to exploit feasibly. Bed to bed gypsum samplings (and their chemical analyses) of huge gypsum deposits from Sulaiman foldbelt is a base for industrialist and also planers to develop cement and gypsum industries to increase export and foreign exchange for the development of area and Pakistan. Low and high grade sedimentary iron deposits, silica sand and uranium host rocks and their extensions in Sulaiman and Kirthar foldbelts are presented. Anomalies of a few base metals arise as a result of geochemical exploration carried at part of Loralai District of Balochistan. Theropod dinosaurs were frequent in India, while Poripuchian titanosaurs (Sauropoda, Dinosauria) were frequent in Pakistan. Besides some ichnotaxa, many bone taxa such as 1 titanosauriform, 14 titanosaurian sauropod (including one new titanosaur), and 3 theropod dinosaurs are established from Pakistan. Among these 12 titanosaur species and 3 theropod species are named in about 10 km2 area of Vitakri dome and 2 titanosaur species are named in about a few hundred square meter area of Mari Bohri (Kachi Bohri) which is about 10 km westward from Vitakri dome. Pakistan is a unique country which discoverd 14 diversified titanosaurs in a short area and also in a short period (67 - 66 million years ago/Ma). About 400 bones found from a few meter thick upper part of upper shale horizon of latest Maastrichtian Vitakri Formation which is base for titanosaur taxa. Cranial material is in low fraction (but include significant diverse snouts), caudal vertebrae are prominent, the cervicals, dorsals and sacrals have significant numbers, forelimb and hind limb bones have balanced fraction. Humeri, femora and tibiae are most common. To know the position of Pakistani titanosaurs among titanosaurs and sauropods, there is a need to extend list of characters for phylogenetic analyses. This broad feature list should include main characters of titanosaurs from Pakistan and also from global world.

Construction of the "Three-integration" Rolling Development Mode in the Urban-rural Fringe from the Perspective of Thematic Business Engine : A Case Study of "Zhucheng Dinosaur Eco-city" in Shandong Province

Starting from the transformation and upgrading of traditional culture,the optimization and development of traditional industries,and the innovation of traditional models,this paper used cultural entrepreneurship to trigger the thematic business engine,and explored Zhucheng City with its unique dinosaur culture.It proposed"Three-integration"rolling development mode to build Zhucheng into a new highland of cultural entrepreneurship and create new competitiveness under the background of agricultural and rural modernization development.This paper also explored from the perspective of multi-subject collaboration of cultural entrepreneurship.Government needs to establish rolling development pilot projects and promote their application;enterprises need to play the engine role of thematic business through the mode of"getting larger to help smaller ones";the masses need to pay attention to the reaction of culture to the economy,so as to promote the wave of high-level promotion of cultural inheritance and urban-rural integration.

Morphological and Phylogenetic Study Based on New Materials ofAnchiornis huxleyi (Dinosauria, Theropoda) from Jianchang, Western Liaoning, China

Anchiornis huxleyi, which is a member of the Middle-Late Jurassic Yanliao Biota, is the smallest feathered dinosaur ever known. It has been described as a critical link between feathered dinosaurs and birds. Recent studies, including those of Anchiornis, Xiaotingia, Eosinopteryx and Aurornis, challenged Archaeopteryx as the most basal bird. The new Anchiornis huxleyi specimens that are described in this paper show some minor different characters compared to previously reported Anchiornis specimens, which has revised the character list of Anchiornis and indicates a different phylogenetic point from former opinions.

On Dinosaur Reconstruction: Posture of Dinosaurs

Dinosaurs due to their diverse species and peculiar forms have drawn the interest of both artists and scientists. One way to unlock the unknown life of dinosaurs is to reconstruct dinosaurs through drawings, computer animations or sculptures. Following the Introduction on “Dinosaur Reconstruction” by the present authors, where important Paleontological knowledge was presented, the next step is to examine some specific information along with necessary details for dinosaur reconstruction. The first and basic step to be taken for a reconstruction is the posture of the animal;this is the theme of the current paper. Dinosaurs would move either bipedally or quadrupedally depending on their kind and body construction. Based on the available literature, various issues in relation to the posture of an animal at different instances are examined. These are: postures of bipedal dinosaurs during walking, observation of living bipedal animals, postures of quadruped dinosaurs during walking, feeding styles, and dinosaur tails. Theropods had a locomotor behavior like modern birds, with the step width increasing when the animals decreased speed. The general posture and movement of quadrupeds and especially sauropods, remains a subject of great and much controversy. Some scientists believe that sauropod necks were generally held in a neutral or undeflected state during most of the time, while others believe that sauropod necks behaved like all present-day amniote with the mid-cervical region held nearly vertical. Also, there are indications that dinosaurs usually held their tails above ground. For all dinosaurs, the long tail was acting as a counterbalance to the head and body. As a validating example, the case of Amargasaurus is investigated with the help of a model, where the various positions of the animal are examined. A certain posture was chosen for a full-size steel and concrete reconstruction based on the features of the animal.

A New Family of Sauropod Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Tianzhen, Shanxi Province, China

A new gigantic sauropod, Huabeisaurus allocotus gen. et sp. nov., about 20 m in length and 5 m in height, was discovered in the Upper Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation, Tianzhen County, Shanxi Province. It is notably different from Diplodocidae, Titanosauridae and Nemegtosauridae in the following aspects: the teeth are strong, peglike with a length ratio of the tooth crown to tooth root at about 3 to 1; the cervical vertebrae are long with forked spines; the spines in dorsal vertebrae are relatively high, unbifurcated; the caudal vertebrae are amphicoelous, with anterior neural spines and unbifurcated spines and chevrons; the femur is straight and long, narrow and flat and the tibia and fibula are long and flat. These characters show that the described genus should represent a new family, Huabeisauridae fam. nov. The discovery enriches the sauropod dinosaur record in China, and is quite significant to the study of the taxonomy, evolution, migration, extinction and palaeobiogeographic provincialism of the Late Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs.

A New Hadrosauriform Dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Gansu Province,China

A new basal hadrosauriform dinosaur, Xuwulongyueluni gen. et sp. nov., is reported based on an articulated specimen including a complete cranium, almost complete axial skeleton, and complete left pelvic girdle. The specimen is recovered from the Early Cretaceous Yujingzi Basin in the Jiuquan area, Gansu Province of northwestern China. Xuwulong is among the most basal members of hadrosauriform dinosaurs, and distinguished by its unique lower jaw in having a V-shaped rostral end of the dentary in lateral view and a mandibular articular surface which levels with mid-height of the dentary ramus, as well as an enlarged and downturned prepubic process. Including Xuwulong, three basal hadrosauriforms have been discovered from the Early Cretaceous Xinminpu Group in the Mazongshan area, making it an important area to study the origin and early evolution of duck-billed dinosaurs.

Description and Phylogenetic Position of Dinosaur Eggshells from the Luanchuan Area of Western Henan Province,China

Here, we examine 145 dinosaur eggshells from a new fossil locality in the Qiupa Formation （Upper Cretaceous） of the Luanchuan area in western Henan Province, China. The eggshells display elongatoolithid macro- and microstructures, including ridges and nodes on the outer surface, two ultrastructurai layers, and an undulatory boundary between the mammillary and continuous layers. A phylogenic analysis shows that the Luanchuan eggshells belong to the ooclade Elongatoolithidae. Within Elongatoolithidae, the thickness ratio of the mammillary layer to the entire eggshell, and the porosity of the Luanchuan eggshells are comparable to the oogenera Macroolithus and Elongatoolithus. There is no direct evidence for the taxonomic identity of the Luanchuan eggshells; however, they were likely laid by oviraptorids based on their phylogenetic position and their similarities with known oviraptorid eggs.

A New Ootype of Dinosaur Egg (Faveoloolithidae： Duovallumoolithus shangdanensis oogen, et oosp. nov.) from the Late Cretaceous in the Shangdan Basin, Shaanxi Province, China

A new ootype collected from the Upper Cretaceous Lijiacun Formation in the Shangdan Basin,Shaanxi Province is described in this paper. Based on general external shape, size, eggshell thickness and honeycomb-like eggshell microstructure, eggs are referable to the oofamily Faveoloolithidae. Compared with other members of Faveoloolithidae, specimens described in this paper show special characteristics:adjacent pores are usually separated by two eggshell units between which often develop interspaces;columnar eggshell units are relatively closely arranged in radial view. According to these characteristics,we erect a new oogenus and a new oospecies: Duovallumoolithus shangdanensis oogen. et oosp. nov. The new discovery expands the diversity of Faveoloolithidae.

Evolution of Dentary Diastema in Iguanodontian Dinosaurs

The dentary diastema of iguanodontians has been considered to be related to its unique jaw mechanism for herbivorous adaptation. The dentary and diastema lengths of iguanodontians were measured and compared to elucidate the evolution of iguanodontian diastema. A gap in ratios between most non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians and hadrosaurids was observed, suggesting that all non- hadrosaurid iguanodontians, expect for Ouranosaurus nigeriensis and Protohadros byrdi, lack a diastema or have a short diastema, although some other taxa have been considered to have a long diastema in previous studies. In non-hadrosaurid iguanodontians, some large-sized forms, such as Iguanodon bernissartensis, Shuangmiaosaurus gilmorei, and possibly Eolambia caroljonesa, had a short diastema through ontogeny, whereas Ouranosaurus nigeriensis and Protohadros byrdi developed a long diastema convergently. The development of a long diastema of hadrosaurine hadrosaurids may be different from that of lambeosaurine hadrosaurids. Some hadrosaurines （Edmontosaurus annectens, Edmontosaurus regalis, and Saurolophus angustirostris） may have developed a long diastema in the subadult stage and showed little elongation of dentary diastema through ontogeny. Lambeosaurines （Corythosaurus casuarius and Lambeosaurus lambei） tend to have a short diastema in the embryonic and subadult stages, and an elongated diastema from the subadult to adult stages.

Statistical Approach for Classification of Dinosaur Eggs from the Heyuan Basin at the Northeast of Guangdong Province

The Zhutian and Dafeng formations （Upper Cretaceous） of the Heyuan Basin in northeastern Guangdong Province, China, have produced thousands of dinosaur eggs. Macromorphological features （egg diameter, egg shape, outer surface texture, and shell thickness） of 461 eggs were analyzed using non-destructive techniques and subjected to statistical analyses in order to assess their diversity and taxonomic affinities. Three types （1, 2 and 3） of eggs were discerned based on shape and outer surface morphology. Type 1 eggs are spherical to ellipsoidal in shape and have a rough surface. Three subtypes （Type 1-A-l, l-A-2, and l-B） are apparent from scatter plots and cluster analyses of egg diameters and shell thickness. Type 2 eggs are elongate with linear ornamentation on the surface, and are comparable to eggs that belong to the oofamily Elongatoolithidae. Type 3 eggs are elongate with a smooth surface, and are assigned to the oofamily Prismatoolithidae. Macromorphological features of the various egg types suggest that Type 1 could have been laid by ornithischian, sauropod or therizinosaur dinosaurs, Type 2 by oviraptorids, and Type 3 by troodontids. This study represents the first comprehensive statistical analysis of macrofeatures of dinosaur eggs, and reveals taxonomic diversity in the dinosaurs that were laying eggs in the Upper Cretaceous Heyuan area heretofore unrecognized in skeletal remains.

A New Theropod Dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Lufeng,Yunnan,China

A new theropod dinosaur, Shidaisaurusjinae gen. et sp. nov., has been described on the basis of an incomplete skeleton. The specimen was found near the base of the Upper Lufeng Formation （early Middle Jurassic） in Yunnan, China. It is the first theropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Yunnan. Shidaisaurus jinae is distinguishable from other Jurassic theropods by certain features from the braincase, axis, and pelvic girdle. The absence of any pleurocoels in the axis or in any anterior dorsal vertebrae suggests that the new Lufeng theropod is relatively primitive and more plesiomorphic than most of the Middle to Late Jurassic theropods from China. Most Chinese taxa of Jurassic theropod dinosaurs have not been well described; a further detailed study will be necessary for us to determine their phylogenetic relationships with Shidaisaurusjinae.

A New Dinosaur Fauna is Discovered in Yunyang, Chongqing, China

The 2019 Annual Symposium on Yunyang Dinosaur Fossil Protection and Research was held in Chongqing on December 16,2019.It was proposed in the symposium that the dinosaurs discovered from the early Middle Jurassic Xintiangou Formation in Yunyang,Chongqing could represent a new dinosaur fauna.Previously,only a few dinosaurs have been reported from the Xintiangou Formation.Moreover,the Xintiangou dinosaurs are playing an important role in studying the evolutionary sequence of dinosaurs,and have the potential to fill the gaps during the Early-Middle dinosaur turnover.

New Evidence from Alashan Area of West Nei Monggol to Reveal Enigma of Dinosaur Extinction

Dinosaur extinction of the late Cretaceous is an enigma. A scorched earth layer was discovered at the end of the Cretaceous system from drilling cores in west of Nei Monggol in China. And there was a creature interruption for 6-8 million years after that period through fossil analysis of the area and the adjacent area. Just in the same system of scorched earth layer, the Polish scientists found the abnormal geo chemical phenomena and high dense universal substances generally contained in meteorite. The authors think, at the end of Cretaceous, many celestial bodies ran into the earth. The collision caused fires all over the world and slowed down the speed of the earth rotation suddenly. The oxygen density decreased sharply. And because of the sudden increase of day length, the biological clock of dinosaur was in the state of chaos. That’s the reason why dinosaurs got extinct. It took a very long time both for the oxygen to return normal for most creatures to live and for the new species fit for new rotation speed of the earth to come into being. That’s why there was the creature interruption after the extinction of the dinosaur.

Significant New Dinosaur Egg Fossils Discovered in 2017

1 Dinosaur Eggs in Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province In February 2017, dinosaur egg fossils were discovered in China Town part of Yiwu City, Zhejiang Province. They were confirmed by dinosaur experts from the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History to be those of Mesozoic herbivorous dinosaurs （Fig. 1）. Not long before, Yiwu Museum staff had discovered dinosaur eggs close by this place.

A Large Dinosaur Assemblage has been Discovered in Pu'an,Yunyang County,Chongqing,China

In June 2017, the Chongqing Municipal Govemment and Chinese scientists announced the discovery of a world -class dinosaur assemblage in Pu＇an, a town of Yunyang County, Chongqing. This group of skeletons was buried in the Jurassic Ziliujing Formation Da＇anzhai member and the lower and upper members of the Shaximiao Formation.

A new alvarezsaurid dinosaur from the Late cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan,Henan Province,central China

An alvarezsaurid dinosaur skeleton was discovered from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan,Henan Province of eenttral China.It represents a new alvarezsaurid dinosaur Qiupanykus zhangi gen.et sp.nov.A phylogenetic analysis recovers Qiupanykus nested within the unresolved clade,which includes Asian and north American taxa.The skeleton of the new specimen is preserved in association with eggshells.The eggshell morphologies show that these eggs belong to oviraptorid eggs,skeletal remains of which were discovered from the same area.The alvarezsaurid skeleton associated with eggshell fragments may indicate that these eggs were broken by the strong thumb-claws of the former and that alvarezsaurid dinosaurs may be egg-eaters.

On Dinosaur Reconstruction: An Introduction to Important Topics of Paleontology and Dinosaurs

Many people may be interested in Paleontology since the subject allows for large amounts of imagination and freedom in the creation of scenes. Dinosaurs draw the biggest interest because of their diversity in peculiar forms and often unusually large size of many species. There are people like artists who help the field paleontologists to describe, interpret and reconstruct fossils, and others that create drawings, restorations, sculptures and, most recently, computer animations for science, art and joy. To this end, a successful professional should have specific knowledge that will allow them to produce high-quality work. The current paper aims at: 1) providing knowledge on various topics of Paleontology, in order to understand the time scale of life on earth, its evolution and diversity;2) generating appreciation for the evolution of climatic conditions, continental plates and movement and the Mesozoic environment in which dinosaurs evolved;3) offering an understanding of scientific nomenclature used in Paleontology, and interpretation of drawings and meanings;4) helping one to realize how scientists extract information from bones, tracks, eggs, embryos and other remains;5) examining the physiology of dinosaurs, their metabolism, behaviors, growth rates estimated lifetime and diet;and 6) leading to the understanding of the relations between different dinosaur species and how Paleontologists complete missing parts from uncomplete skeletons. Examining the evolution of life, we observe that life began about 3.8 billion years ago in the deep sea. The first simple animals such as worms and jellyfish appeared in the oceans around 600 mya. The crust of the earth continuously moves to produce changes in the land masses and changes in the climatic conditions that affect the evolution of life. The life of the earth is divided into geological eras. At the end of each geological era, a major event of extinction occurred, which every time obliterated important groups of life. Dinosauria was one of the most successful clades of animals that lived on terrestrial ecosystems for over 160 million years, but was extinct at one of the major extinction events 66 mya. The remains of animals allow scientists and artists to recreate their forms usually in great detail and extract a lot of information about their lives. The paper describes in detail how and where to find information and explains how to interpret them in order to understand the meanings. The paper presents all the above in a simplified way giving the required knowledge without using difficult scientific terms and provides the essential knowledge to the interested person to appreciate the science of Paleontology.

China's Dinosaur Egg Fossil Made its Way Home after Being Smuggled to America for 28 Years

On 28 February 2012, under the close judiciary of and diplomatic cooperation between the United States and China for five years, a fossilized nest containing 22 dinosaur eggs, which was smuggled to America, finally made its way home.

Distribution and Characteristics of Dinosaur Eggs in China

China is one of the most prolific countries for dinosaur material in the world, from skeletons to footprints and eggs. At present, China has documented more than 160 kinds of dinosaur, 35 genera and 39 ichnospecies of dinosaur footprints, and 17 genera and 44 oospecies of dinosaur eggs. The dinosaur eggs in China are mainly distributed in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Ningxia, Gansu, Henan, Hunan, Hubei, Jilin, Liaoning, Shandong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Guangdong （Fig. 1）, especially in Xixia of Henan, Nanxiong of Guangdong and Yunxian County of Hubei, which have the widest distribution, the best preservation and the most diversity.

Dinosaur footprint assemblage from the Lower Cretaceous Khok Kruat Formation,Khorat Group,northeastern Thailand

The Khok Kruat Formation is the upper part of the Khorat Group,which consists of upper Lower Cretaceous non-marine sedimentary rocks in northeastern Thailand.Many dinosaur footprints have been known from the upper Lower Cretaceous(Aptian-Albian)Khok Kruat Formation at the Huai Dam Chum(Tha Uthen)site,northeastern Thailand.Approximately 600 tracks occur in thin mudstone layer of the northern part of the outcrop at the Huai Dam Chum track site.Two types of footprints,small-sized theropod and crocodylomorph are imprinted with mud cracks and ripple marks on the thin mud layer.Most of footprints are referred to cf.Asianopodus,and are imprinted by small-sized theropoda,probably ornithomimosauria.Theropod tracks are mainly separated into two groups,Group A and Group B.From ichnological viewpoints,the small-sized theropod track assemblage indicates the herd behaviour and its idiosyncratic group composition.In particular,the histogram of size-frequency measurements of Group A shows the anomalous bimodal distribution.We consider that there are two hypotheses;the first one is due to the male-female difference,and the second is a result of the different growing stage.