A New Eusauropod Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Guangxi Province, Southern China

A new sauropod dinosaur, Liubangosaurus hei gen. et sp. nov., is erected based on a specimen represented by five articulated middle-caudal dorsal vertebrae, which was discovered in the Lower Cretaceous Napai Formation of Guangxi Province, southern China. This new taxon is diagnosed by a unique combination of derived features: prezygapophysis closely contacts with parapophysis, with the prdl and prpl absent; presence of cavity on the dorsal surface of the diapophysis; neural spine very low, with its distal end level with that of diapophysis; distal end of the neural spine strongly expanded laterally to form a platform; marked fossa formed between the infradiapophyseal lamina and the parapophysis; broad, flat area of featureless bone on lateral surface of neural arch; vertically directed infradiapophyseal lamina expands or bifurcates ventrally to form a inverted Y; highly positioned parapophyses large and tear-drop in shape. The discovery of this new taxon increases the diversity of sauropods in China during the Early Cretaceous.