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''Limusaurus'' (meaning "mud lizard") is a genus of toothless herbivorous theropod dinosaur from the Jurassic (Oxfordian stage) Upper Shishugou Formation in the Junggar Basin of western China.〔(New dinosaur gives bird wing clue ). BBC News, June 17, 2009.〕 ''Limusaurus'' is the first definitely known ceratosaur from Eastern Asia, including China. The discovery of ''Limusaurus'' also suggests that there may have been a land connection between Asia and several other continents allowing for faunal exchange even though the Turgai Sea was previously thought to prohibit such a movement.〔 The type species is ''L. inextricabilis''. The specific name means "impossible to extricate".〔 ==Description== The type, and to date the only species, ''L. inextricabilis'', was described in a 2009 paper coauthored by X. Xu, J. M. Clark, J. Mo, J. Choiniere, C. A. Forster, G. M. Erickson, D. W. E. Hone, C. Sullivan, D. A. Eberth, S. Nesbitt, Q. Zhao, R. Hernandez, C.-K Jia, F.-L. Han, and Y. Guo in the journal ''Nature''.〔Xu, X., Clark, J.M., Mo, J., Choiniere, J., Forster, C.A., Erickson, G.M., Hone, D.W.E., Sullivan, C., Eberth, D.A., Nesbitt, S., Zhao, Q., Hernandez, R., Jia, C.-K., Han, F.-L., and Guo, Y. (2009). "A Jurassic ceratosaur from China helps clarify avian digital homologies." ''Nature'', 459(18): 940–944. 〕 It is known from two subadult specimens found in close connection; the holotype, (IVPP) V 15923, is an almost complete articulated skeleton, and the other, IVPP V 15924, is a nearly completely articulated specimen, only missing the skull. The second specimen is 15% larger than the holotype. A third referred specimen is IVPP V16134. All specimens were young adults when they died, as can be concluded from the extent of bone fusion; from growth lines it was inferred that IVPP V 15924 was in its sixth year when it died. ''Limusaurus'' had a small slender body measuring about 1.7 m in length. It is the first definite ceratosaur from eastern Asia to be discovered and one of the earliest. Its discovery shows that the Asian dinosaurian fauna was less endemic during the Middle/Late Jurassic period than previously thought and suggests a possible land connection between Asia and other continents during that period. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Limusaurus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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