A new ornithomimid dinosaur with North American affinities from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation in Henan Province of China

Abstract

A partial skeleton of the ornithomimid dinosaur, discovered from the Late Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of Luanchuan County, Tantou Basin, Henan Province, China, is described here and assigned to a new genus and species, Qiupalong henanensis, with unique features (a notch on the lateral surface of the lateral posterior process of the proximal end of tibia and a small pit at the contact between astragalus and calcaneum). A phylogenetic analysis in this study suggests that it is a derived ornithomimid and form a monophyly with North American ornithomimids (Struthiomimus altus and Ornithomimus edmontonicus), sharing two characters (straight pubic shaft and large acute angle between pubic shaft and boot). Some characters (small anterior process of the pubic boot and curved pedal unguals) are seen in basal ornithomimosaurs as well, but these features in Q. henanensis are reversal. Qiupalong is the first definitive ornithomimid from outside of the Gobi Desert and is the southern-most occurrence of Late Cretaceous ornithomimid from eastern Asia, demonstrating southern extension of ornithomimid distribution in Asia.