Whats the Deal About Tianchisaurus?

[Takama]

Ok I run a line of Dinosaur models, and I commission a Tianchisaurus because i thoght it was a cool animal that ties with Jurassic Park. However I check the Dinosaur Genera list and it says that Tianchisaurus is now a  Dubious animal.   Does anyone have access to the paper that explains Why this is?   I think i found it, but the darn thing is not free nor cheap for me to read.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14772019.2015.1059985#.VeplvxFVhBd
Please can anyone shed light on this?

[amargasaurus cazaui]

Ok I run a line of Dinosaur models, and I commission a Tianchisaurus because i thoght it was a cool animal that ties with Jurassic Park. However I check the Dinosaur Genera list and it says that Tianchisaurus is now a  Dubious animal.   Does anyone have access to the paper that explains Why this is?   I think i found it, but the darn thing is not free nor cheap for me to read.

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/14772019.2015.1059985#.VeplvxFVhBd
Please can anyone shed light on this?

Get me the full citation that names the authors and I will get it for you

[Halichoeres]

"IVPP V10614 [the Tianchisaurus holotype specimen] could not be located at the IVPP in August 2010. Although photographs of IVPP V10614 in Dong (1993) are clear, the fragmentary nature of many of the elements makes it difficult to assess the validity of Tianchisaurus. All of the described diagnostic characters are widely distributed with the Ankylosauria, except potentially the relatively thin mandible. However, the mandible as figured does not appear substantially thinner than in other ankylosaurs. A long, prominent fourth trochanter would be unusual in an ankylosaur, but this feature is later described as a ridge, consistent with the condition in other ankylosaurs. The element identified as a tail club in IVPP V10614 is probably not a tail club knob, although it is unclear what the element represents. A partial cervical half ring is present in IVPP V10614. Dong (1993) considered the cervical half ring to be composed of osteoderms co-ossifed to each other. Based on the figured image, the half ring appears to be composed of osteoderms atop a band, a feature more typically found in ankylosaurids than nodosaurids. Unfortunately, Tianchisaurus lacks diagnostic characters to distinguish it from other Jurassic ankylosaurs like Gargoyleosaurus and Mymoorapelta, and as such it must be considered a nomen dubium."
--Arbour & Currie July 2015, J. Systematic Paleo.

So essentially, they regard an animal known from just a handful of disarticulated elements as too little to diagnose a species. Which seems kinda reasonable.

[Takama]

Thank you for that Halichoeres

It just Irks me that I just Commissioned a model of this Species back in June(to coincide with the Release of Jurassic World)  and kept it secret for a long time until it was ready to be released.
And i been trying to avoid Dubious Species the best i can. Well i guess these things happen. I feel if i revield it sooner, someone could of notified me of its Stats and the Model would be Canned and Recycled in favor of something else


BTW if any of you are interested in a model of this dubious species, the Model is available at Dans Dinosaurs.

http://stores.dansdinosaurs.com/tianchisaurus-finished-model-by-animasaurs/

[Halichoeres]

Thank you for that Halichoeres

It just Irks me that I just Commissioned a model of this Species back in June(to coincide with the Release of Jurassic World)  and kept it secret for a long time until it was ready to be released.
And i been trying to avoid Dubious Species the best i can. Well i guess these things happen. I feel if i revield it sooner, someone could of notified me of its Stats and the Model would be Canned and Recycled in favor of something else


BTW if any of you are interested in a model of this dubious species, the Model is available at Dans Dinosaurs.

http://stores.dansdinosaurs.com/tianchisaurus-finished-model-by-animasaurs/

I wouldn't sweat it. People love their "Kitadaniryu" models, even though no material has ever properly borne that name. And I'm awfully fond of my "Sanchuryu." Still others have treasured "Trachodon" figures. Plus, this is just one paper, and who knows what remains will turn up in the future. Names get resurrected from time to time.

[Dinoguy2]

Thank you for that Halichoeres

It just Irks me that I just Commissioned a model of this Species back in June(to coincide with the Release of Jurassic World)  and kept it secret for a long time until it was ready to be released.
And i been trying to avoid Dubious Species the best i can. Well i guess these things happen. I feel if i revield it sooner, someone could of notified me of its Stats and the Model would be Canned and Recycled in favor of something else


BTW if any of you are interested in a model of this dubious species, the Model is available at Dans Dinosaurs.

http://stores.dansdinosaurs.com/tianchisaurus-finished-model-by-animasaurs/

I wouldn't sweat it. People love their "Kitadaniryu" models, even though no material has ever properly borne that name. And I'm awfully fond of my "Sanchuryu." Still others have treasured "Trachodon" figures. Plus, this is just one paper, and who knows what remains will turn up in the future. Names get resurrected from time to time.

The problem with dubious species isn't that it's an invalid name, it's that its bones can't be distinguished from its relatives. So if you were to sculpt a Tianchisaurus, good luck, because it's based on such scrappy remains that if you asked what it looked like, the only correct answer is "we have no clue, generic ankylosaurid maybe?" You basically just have to make something up.

Same with Trachodon. It's a valid species, but we don't know anything about it, so it's dubious, meaning there's no point talking about it or restoring it. Classic Trachodon toys are really Anatotitan/Anatosaurus/Edmontosaurus annectens not because Trachodon isn't "real", but because the complete specimens they were based on are now part of that genus.