EARLY CRETACEOUS DINOSAUR FAUNAS IN CHINA - AN INTRODUCTION

Preliminary evidence suggests that during the Early Cretaceous there w ere separate dinosaur faunas in northern and southern Asia. The northe rn fauna, the Psittacosaurus fauna, is well known and based upon colle ctions from numerous localities and formations throughout northern Chi na and southern Mongolia. Although the southern fauna is still poorly known and based upon collections from only a small number of sites, it appears to be distinguished by the absence of psittacosaurs. The disc overy of Psittacosaurus in Thailand suggests that the division is prob ably ecological in nature.