Wudingloong is a type of dinosaur that lived during the Early Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago. This dinosaur was found in the Yubacun Formation in China and is part of a larger group called sauropodomorphs, which includes some of the largest dinosaurs.
Wudingloong is considered to be one of the oldest known sauropodomorphs from East Asia. It has been classified into its own genus and species, named Wudingloong wui. The name “Wudingloong” comes from the area where it was found, Wuding County, and “loong” means dragon in Chinese. The species name “wui” honors a paleontologist named Xiao-Chun Wu for his contributions to dinosaur research in that region.
The first fossils of Wudingloong were discovered near Wande Town in Yunnan Province after September 2020. The fossils include a part of the skull, a series of neck and back bones, some ribs, and parts of its front limb. These remains are significant because they provide important information about early dinosaurs.
In scientific studies, Wudingloong has been placed in a group called Massopoda, which includes other early dinosaurs like Plateosauravus and Ruehleia. This suggests that Wudingloong is closely related to these other species, showing how diverse dinosaurs were during their early evolution.
So, Wudingloong helps us learn more about the history of dinosaurs, especially in Asia, and how they grew and changed over millions of years.