Xinpusaurus

Xinpusaurus Temporal range: Late Triassic, Carnian PreЄ Є O S D C P T J K Pg N
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	†Thalattosauria
Superfamily:	†Thalattosauroidea
Genus:	†Xinpusaurus Yin, 2000
Species
†X. suni Yin, 2000 (type) †X. bamaolinensis Cheng, 2003 †X. kohi Jiang et al., 2004

Xinpusaurus is an extinct genus of thalattosaur from the Late Triassic of Guanling in Guizhou, China. Three species have been named since 2000: the type species X. suni and the species X. bamaolinensis and X. kohi. A recent study proposed that all three species are synonymous with each other, in which case X. suni would be the only valid species.^[1] Xinpusaurus is characterized by short legs, a long tail, and an upturned snout. It had robust, pointed teeth in the front of its jaws and broad crushing teeth in the back of its jaws, suggesting that it fed on hard-shelled prey.^[2]

Relationships

A phylogenetic analysis of thalattosaurs published in 2013 found Concavispina to be the closest relative of Xinpusaurus. Below is a cladogram based on that analysis:^[2]

Diapsida

Petrolacosaurus kansensis Youngina capensis Prolacerta broomi Thalattosauria Askeptosauroidea Miodentosaurus brevis Endennasaurus acutirostris Anshunsaurus huangguoshuensis Anshunsaurus wushaensis Askeptosaurus italicus Thalattosauroidea Paralonectes merriami Concavispina biseridens Xinpusaurus suni Clarazia schinzi Hescheleria ruebeli Agkistrognathus campebelli Nectosaurus halius Thalattosaurus alexandrae Thalattosaurus borealis

References

1. Liu, J. (2013). "On the taxonomy of Xinpusaurus (Reptilia: Thalattosauria)" (PDF). Vertebrata PalAsiatica 51 (1): 17–23.
2. Liu, J.; Zhao, L. J.; Li, C.; He, T. (2013). "Osteology ofConcavispina biseridens(Reptilia, Thalattosauria) from the Xiaowa Formation (Carnian), Guanling, Guizhou, China". Journal of Paleontology 87 (2): 341. doi:10.1666/12-059R1.1.