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ABSTRACT
We describe a new coelurosaurian theropod, Zuolong salleei, gen. et sp. nov., from exposures of the upper part of the Shishugou Formation at the Wucaiwan locality, Xinjiang Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China. Zuolong has a large, inclined quadrate foramen that extends onto the medial surface of the quadratojugal, an unusually large fovea capitis on the femoral head, and an apomorphically large distal condyle of metatarsal III with a medially projecting flange on the extensor surface. Radiometric dating of the Shishugou Formation constrains the age of the specimen to the beginning of the Late Jurassic (Oxfordian). A cladistic analysis of Zuolong salleei in a broadly sampled theropod data matrix recovers it as a basal coelurosaur. These data make Zuolong one of the oldest coelurosaur fossils yet known that preserves both cranial and postcranial bones.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Collection and study of this specimen were supported by NSF grants EAR 0310217, EAR 0228559, and OISE 0812234, and grants from the National Geographic Society, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Jurassic Foundation, the Hilmar Sallee bequest, George Washington University, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Research by J.N.C. was also supported by the Robert Weintraub Fellowship in Systematics and Evolution (George Washington University). We thank the crew of the Sino-American field expedition for discovering and unearthing the holotype, W. Haijun for preparing the specimen, M. Parrish and M. Ellison for providing constructive comments on illustration techniques, J. Conrad for useful discussions, M. Carrano, C. Angle, P. Barrett, D. Brinkman, B. Britt, K. Cloward, M. Getty, K. Hearst, J. Horner, S. Hutt, P. Jeffrey, W. Joyce, M. Loewen, C. Mehling, A. Milner, and R. Scheetz for access to specimens in their care, J. Georgi and J. Sipla for CT scanning the specimen, and M. Norell for use of his office space. D. Eddy and E. Schachner shared unpublished data. The manuscript was greatly improved by reviews from R. Benson, T. Carr, J. Harris, and J. A. Wilson. We thank the Willi Hennig Society for providing free access to phylogenetic software.
