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.

► We described a new ornithischian Yueosaurus tiantaiensis from Zhejiang, China. ► Yueosaurus represents the first basal ornithopod dinosaur from Southeastern China. ► Yueosaurus represents the southernmost basal ornithopod dinosaur from Asia. ► This discovery provides new information regarding the biogeography of Ornithopoda.