Zizhongosaurus
| Zizhongosaurus Temporal range: Middle-Late Toarcian,
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|---|---|
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Family: | †Vulcanodontidae |
| Genus: | †Zizhongosaurus Dong in Dong et al., 1983 |
| Species: | †Z. chuanchengensis
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| Binomial name | |
| †Zizhongosaurus chuanchengensis Dong in Dong et al., 1983
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Zizhongosaurus (meaning "Zizhong lizard") is a genus of basal herbivorous sauropod dinosaur which lived in the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) Period of China. It was a large-bodied herbivore characterized by a long neck.
Discovery and naming
The genus and its type species Zizhongosaurus chuanchengensis were named in 1983 by Dong Zhiming, in a volume written by himself, Zhou Shiwu, and Zhang Yihong. The generic name is derived from Zizhong County in Sichuan Province. The specific name refers to the town of Chuancheng.[1]
The type specimens consist of three syntypes: V9067.1 is a partial dorsal vertebra; V9067.2 is a humerus or upper arm; and V9067.3 is a pubis. All specimens likely were part of a single skeleton, collected from the Ziliujing Formation. Zizhongosaurus was described as a small species.[1]
In 1999 Li Kui mentioned a second species: Zizhongosaurus huangshibanensis[2] but this has remained an undescribed nomen nudum.
Classification
Zizhongosaurus was originally assigned to the Cetiosaurinae but later authors have placed it in either the Vulcanodontidae, as a relative of Barapasaurus, or the Shunosaurinae. It is today often considered a nomen dubium.[citation needed]
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