Xingtianosaurus, a new caudipterid

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A new genus of caudipterid oviraptorid theropod has been described from the Early Cretaceous Yixan Formation of China. It has been given the new scientific name Xingtianosaurus ganqi ("Xingtian lizard Ganqi"). The genus name originates from Xingtian, a Chinese deity who continued to fight after his decapitation, referring to the fact that the holotype lacks a skull, and the Greek word "saurus," meaning "lizard," while the species name originates from Ganqi, the name of the weapon used by Xingtian in Chinese legend. Aside from the missing skull, a few vertebrae, and the coracoids, the skeleton of the new genus is complete. Its classification as a caudipterid makes it the third member of the group, following Caudipteryx and Similicaudipteryx. Here is an image of the holotype specimen as well as a link to the paper describing the new genus.



Paper (open access!): https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42547-6

[Halichoeres]

It'd be nice to have a head, but this is a cool find anyway!