Xunmenglong

Xunmenglong; Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, Hauterivian;
	Reconstructed skeleton
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	Theropoda
Family:	†Compsognathidae
Genus:	†; Xing et al., 2019
Type species
	†Xunmenglong yinliangis; Xing et al., 2019

Xunmenglong (from Chinese: 迅猛龍/迅猛龙; pinyin: Xùnměnglóng; lit. 'swift fierce dragon') is a genus of compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the Huajiying Formation of Hebei Province, China. The type and only species is Xunmenglong yinliangis. The holotype material consists of a pelvis, tail base and hindlimbs that had previously been part of a chimera containing three different animals. The animal is described as being the smallest known member of Compsognathidae, being about the size of the sub-adult Scipionyx holotype specimen, or approximately 50 centimetres (1.6 ft) in length.^[1]

Classification

In the original description, Xunmenglong is recovered as a compsognathid in a polytomy including Compsognathus, Huaxiagnathus, and Juravenator. However, Andrea Cau (2024) recovered Xunmenglong not as a compsognathid, but instead as a basal member of Tetanurae.^[2]

References

^ Xing, Lida; Miyashita, Tetsuto; Wang, Donghao; Niu, Kechung; Currie, Philip J. (2019). "A new compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the oldest assemblage of the Jehol Biota in the Lower Cretaceous Huajiying Formation, northeastern China". Cretaceous Research. 107 104285. Bibcode:2020CrRes.10704285X. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104285. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 210615455.
^ Cau, Andrea (2024). "A Unified Framework for Predatory Dinosaur Macroevolution" (PDF). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana. 63 (1): 1-19. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2024.08 (inactive 12 July 2025). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)

[XingMiyashita2019-1] Xing, Lida; Miyashita, Tetsuto; Wang, Donghao; Niu, Kechung; Currie, Philip J. (2019). "A new compsognathid theropod dinosaur from the oldest assemblage of the Jehol Biota in the Lower Cretaceous Huajiying Formation, northeastern China". Cretaceous Research. 107 104285. Bibcode:2020CrRes.10704285X. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2019.104285. ISSN 0195-6671. S2CID 210615455.

[Cau2024-2] Cau, Andrea (2024). "A Unified Framework for Predatory Dinosaur Macroevolution" (PDF). Bollettino della Società Paleontologica Italiana. 63 (1): 1-19. doi:10.4435/BSPI.2024.08 (inactive 12 July 2025). Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 April 2024. Retrieved 22 April 2024.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of July 2025 (link)

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