Analong

Did You Know?

• The Lufeng World Dinosaur Valley exhibition was built around the skeletons in 2008.
• Analong is a basally-branching member of Mamenchisauridae.

Discovery and naming

The fossils of Analong were originally discovered in 1995 by Tao Wang of the Lufeng Dinosaur Museum in the village of A'na and the town of Chuanjie in Lufeng County, Yunnan. Local villagers built a small shelter over the two giant sauropod skeletons because they could not be excavated immediately. The skeletons remained in place until 2000, when they were described and named Chuanjiesaurus, with specimen Lfch 1001 as the holotype and LFGT LCD9701-1 as a referred specimen. In 2011, a full osteological description reaffirmed the referred specimen as the same taxon based on caudal vertebrae anatomy. In 2020, Xin-Xin Ren and colleagues re-examined LFGT LCD9701-1 and found sufficient differences to erect a new genus and species, Analong chuanjieensis. The genus name combines A'na with the Mandarin word for dragon, and the species name refers to Chuanjie.

Description

The holotype of Analong is a partial skeleton lacking the skull, including 11 articulated cervical vertebrae, 8 dorsal vertebrae, 4 or 5 sacral vertebrae, the first 24 caudal vertebrae, ribs, both pubic bones, the left ilium, a complete left forelimb, and the left femur. Autapomorphies include transverse processes on the first ten caudals, a 45-degree angle between two ulnar processes, a metacarpal width 7% the width of the radius, and a uniformly narrow pubis along 40% of its distal width. Synapomorphies include bifid mid-caudal chevrons and a sub-equal length of the proximal condylar process of the ulna.