A new ornithischian dinosaur from the Cretaceous Liangtoutang Formation of Tiantai, Zhejiang Province, China

A new ornithischian dinosaur, Yueosaurus tiantaiensis gen. et sp. nov., is erected based on a partial postcranial skeleton from the Liangtoutang Formation (Aptian-Cenomanian) of Zhejiang Province, China. It differs from other ornithischians in possessing the following unique combination of characters: prominent and slightly ventrally directed 'cervical parapophyses; anteroposteriorly narrow neural spines on caudal vertebrae; scapula with a ventroscapular groove, supraglenoidal buttress, supraglenoid fossa, and a strong anteroventral expansion of the scapular blade. Yueosaurus represents the first basal ornithopod taxon from southeastern China. It expands our understanding of the Cretaceous dinosaurian fauna of Zhejiang Province. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.