Xixiposaurus

Xixiposaurus (meaning "Xixipo lizard") is a genus of "prosauropod" dinosaur which existed in what is now Lower Lufeng Formation, China during the lower Jurassic period.^[1] It was first named by Sekiya Toru in 2010 and the type species is X. suni.^[1]

Xixiposaurus Temporal range: Early Jurassic, 201–183 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	†Sauropodomorpha
Genus:	†Xixiposaurus Sekiya, 2010
Species:	†X. suni
Binomial name
†Xixiposaurus suni Sekiya, 2010

Etymology

The generic name, Xixiposaurus, refers to the village of Xixipo in Lufeng County, Yunnan, China, where the holotype, a partial skeleton with skull named ZLJ01018, was discovered. The specific name, suni, refers to Professor Sun Ge of Jilin University.^[1]

Classification

Sekiya (2010)'s phylogenetic analysis places Xixiposaurus as a derived member of a monophyletic Prosauropoda, a hypothesis that is currently unaccepted. It is placed as the sister taxon to Mussaurus in a family Plateosauridae, which also included Riojasaurus, Coloradisaurus, and "Gyposaurus" sinensis.^[1]