Plus version of Lufeng Dragon! How can a vegetarian be so aggressive?

Editor's note: In the long history of life on Earth, dinosaurs were once the dominant species on Earth. In 1995, a young farmer dug up the world's largest Jurassic dinosaur cemetery at Dinosaur Mountain in Chuanjie, Lufeng, Chuxiong, Yunnan, covering an area of ​​10,000 square meters, with dinosaur fossils and associated animal groups from the early, middle and late Jurassic periods. This is a real "Jurassic World" that existed between 190 million and 140 million years ago.

The Yunnan learning platform of "Study to Make China Strong" jointly with the Chuxiong learning platform of "Study to Make China Strong" and Lufeng Media launched the "Dinosaur Research Institute" series of planning, taking you into the "Jurassic World" to explore the past and present lives of dinosaurs.

The giant Lufengosaurus lived in the early Jurassic period. Its skeletal structure was very similar to that of Lufengosaurus xurenii of the same period, but the individual was obviously larger than Lufengosaurus xurenii and was a larger basal sauropod dinosaur.

Excavation site of the giant Lufengosaurus

The giant Lufengosaurus was named by Professor Yang Zhongjian in 1947. The species name comes from the Latin word "magnus", which means "huge". Its holotype specimen was found in Dachong Village, Jinshan Town, Lufeng City, at the same level as Xu's Lufengosaurus. It preserves a relatively complete postcranial skeleton, with a femur length of 740 mm and a tibia length of 76% of the femur.

The giant Lufengosaurus has a sturdy body and powerful limbs. It is the ancestor of large sauropod dinosaurs, so people once thought that they walked on four legs. In fact, the giant Lufengosaurus sometimes stood and walked on its hind limbs, and its forelimbs played a more important role.

The end of the forelimbs of the giant Lufeng dragon is a large claw with five fingers (its forelimbs generally do not function as feet, so the end of the forelimbs is generally called "fingers", and the hind limbs are "toes"). Although the claws are large, they are very flexible and can grab branches and tree trunks. When the giant Lufeng dragon eats, they will use their flexible large claws to grab branches and then enjoy the leaves on them. In addition to helping with eating, the giant Lufeng dragon's large claws are also a very powerful weapon that can protect itself when danger comes.

In December 2015, villagers of Dahuangtian Village, Dawa Village Committee, Jinshan Town, Lufeng City, discovered a dinosaur fossil while building a road. Professor Dong Zhiming, a researcher at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and a world-renowned dinosaur expert, identified it on the spot as a giant Lufengosaurus fossil. The dinosaur fossil is more than 70% well preserved, with a relatively intact part of 5.3 meters. The estimated complete length is nearly 9 meters. There are 13 dorsal vertebrae, 3 cervical vertebrae, left and right ilium, ischiopubic bones, all hind limbs, and 22 caudal vertebrae (nearly half of the caudal vertebrae). Such a high degree of completeness is very rare in the excavation of dinosaur fossils in Lufeng, and has important scientific research, popular science and tourism value.

"Study to Strengthen the Country" Yunnan Learning Platform "Study to Strengthen the Country" Chuxiong Prefecture Learning Platform Lufeng Media Jointly Produced

Source: China Lufeng Dinosaur Research Center Lufeng Dinosaur Research Institute

Coordinator: Tang Lina, Li Yi

Planning: Yang Ke Pu Li Mei

Text editing: Yang Ke

Editors of this issue: Lin Qinrui, Zhang Yujun

Poster design: Liu Siyi

Guiding experts: Wang Tao and Dong Qixing from Lufeng Natural Resources Bureau and Lufeng Dinosaur Fossil Conservation and Research Center

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