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Cited by 51Paleontology and Evolutionary BiologyEvolution and Paleontology StudiesFossil Insects in Amber

A Short-Armed Troodontid Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia and Its Implications for Troodontid Evolution

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Xu, Xing, Tan, Qingwei, Sullivan, Corwin, Han, Fenglu, Xiao, Dong·2011·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0022916PMC PMC3168428
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Troodontidae represents one of the most bird-like theropod groups and plays an important role in our understanding of avian origins. Although troodontids have been known for over 150 years, few known derived troodontid specimens preserve significant portions of both the forelimb and the hindlimb. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here, we report a new troodontid taxon, Linhevenator tani gen. et sp. nov., based on a partial, semi-articulated skeleton recovered from the Upper Cretaceous Wulansuhai Formation of Wulatehouqi, Inner Mongolia, China. L. tani has an unusual combination of primitive and derived character states, though our phylogenetic analysis places it in a derived clade within the Troodontidae. As a derived taxon, L. tani has a dromaeosaurid-like pedal digit II, and this species also possesses a humerus that is proportionally much shorter and more robust than those of most other troodontids. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The combination of features present in Linhevenator indicates a complex pattern of character evolution within the Troodontidae. In particular, the discovery of Linhevenator suggests that derived troodontids have independently evolved a highly specialized pedal digit II and have significantly shortened the forelimb over the course of their evolution.

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  • The deltopectoral crest of DLXH 1218 is approximately 20% of the total humeral length, as in basal deinonychosaurs, but unlike the proportionally much longer ones seen in derived troodontids such as Linhevenator.

    “It is ∼20% of the total humeral length as in basal deinonychosaurs, but unlike the proportionally much longer ones seen in derived troodontids such as Linhevenator36.”

    From Mosaic evolution in an asymmetrically feathered troodontid dinosaur with transitional features (2017) · cites this paper as [36]

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Cited by

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Authors
Xu, X., Tan, Q., Sullivan, C., Han, F., & Xiao, D.
Affiliations
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
Corresponding author
Xu, Xing
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2011-09-07
Volume
6
Issue
9
Pages
e22916
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0022916
PMC
PMC3168428
OpenAlex
W2102375378
Cited by
51
References
6
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
FWCI
0.89
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
National Natural Science Foundation of China (40830210)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Fossil Insects in Amber
Keywords
Troodontidae, forelimb reduction, humerus morphology, avian origin, theropod evolution, Inner Mongolia, new genus and species, character evolution
MeSH terms
Animals, China, Biological Evolution, Forelimb, Hindlimb, Phylogeny, Dinosaurs

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