Yinlong is anchored by nearly complete holotype IVPP V14530 from the Late Jurassic Shishugou Formation; this specimen-level occurrence is not a global ceratopsian first appearance or a direct ancestor.
claim:taxon:yinlongYinlong
A Late Jurassic ceratopsian represented by the nearly complete holotype IVPP V14530 from the upper Shishugou Formation; its position in the study's character matrix is a test result, not an uncontested ancestry claim.
Represented range161.2–155.7 Ma
Content packagedinosauria
PBDBtxn:90117
Evidence boundary
Automated checks cover structure, identifiers, translations and links only; maintainer and external expert review are not complete.
Claim ledger
Yinlong downsi is based on holotype IVPP V14530, and the study recovers the taxon as a basal ceratopsian in its sampled character matrix; that analysis is not evidence of an uncontested relationship or direct ancestry.
claim:taxon:yinlong:profile-taxonomyHolotype IVPP V14530 is a nearly complete skeleton missing only the distal tail; the primary description records its broad post-orbital skull region, shallow pre-orbital region and diagnostic cranial features, all limited to the named specimen.
claim:taxon:yinlong:profile-morphologyThis profile's geographic statement is limited to Wucaiwan in the Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China, and the upper Shishugou Formation horizon reported for IVPP V14530; it does not establish a global distribution.
claim:taxon:yinlong:profile-biogeographyThe primary description estimates the IVPP V14530 individual at about 120 cm and interprets its short forelimbs and robust hindlimbs as compatible with bipedality; diet, habitat preference, guild and observed behaviour are not directly resolved by this anatomy and matrix study.
claim:taxon:yinlong:profile-ecologyKnown limits
- A missing branch or fossil occurrence does not imply biological absence. Internal nodes are not calibrated divergence estimates.
References
- A basal ceratopsian with transitional features from the Late Jurassic of northwestern ChinaXu, X.; Forster, C.A.; Clark, J.M.; Mo, J. · 2006 · DOI 10.1098/rspb.2006.3566
- Open Tree of Life web servicesOpenTreeOfLife Project
- The Paleobiology Database application programming interfacePeters, S.E.; McClennen, M. · 2016 · DOI 10.1017/pab.2015.39
- Denormalized occurrence and taxon tables of the Paleobiology DatabaseThe Paleobiology Database Community; Kocsis, Á.T. · 2026 · DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21620933