Nanshiungosaurus

Nanshiungosaurus is a genus of therizinosaurian theropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous of China.

Two species have been named in the genus: the type species Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus and Nanshiungosaurus bohlini.

Discovery and naming
In 1979 Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus was named and described by Dong Zhiming. The generic name refers to Nanxiong. The specific name is derived from Latin brevis, "short", and spina, "thorn", in reference to the short vertebral spines.

The holotype specimen, IVPP V4731, was near Dapingcun in Guangdong found in a layer of the Yuanpu Formation, dating from the Late Cretaceous Campanian. It consists of a partial skeleton lacking the skull but including eleven cervical, ten dorsal and six sacral vertebrae, and a bulky pelvis. It was first thought to be a small, strange sauropod characterised by a shorter but thicker neck than other sauropods.[1]

In 1997 Dong and You Hailu named and described a second species: Nanshiungosaurus bohlini, based on a skeleton found in 1992 near Mazongshan. The specific name honours the Swedish paleontologist Birger Bohlin. The holotype is IVPP V 11116, from the Early Cretaceous Upper Xinminbao Group dating from the Barremian-Aptian. It consists of only eleven cervical and five dorsal vertebrae with some ribs.[2] Dong and You presented no evidence or argumentation supporting the assignment of the species to Nanshiungosaurus. In view of the lack of synapomorphies, shared unique traits, and the large age difference with Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus it is generally considered that the second species might warrant its own genus.

Description
Gregory S. Paul in 2010 estimated the length of Nanshiungosaurus brevispinus at five metres, the weight at six hundred kilogrammes.[5] The species distinguishes itself by the possession of twelve cervical vertebrae.[1] The number of sacral vertebrae was first determined at five,[1] later corrected to six.[6]

"Nanshiungosaurus" bohlini is a larger form, estimated by Paul at six metres and 1.3 tonnes.