A juvenile ankylosaur from China

Juvenile ankylosaur specimens are very rare. A new ankylosaur, Liaoningosau rus paradoxus gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a beautifully preserv ed juvenile ankylosaur specimen from the famous Yixian Formation of Liaonin g, China. Liaoningosaurus has a large bony plate (somewhat shell-like) shie lding the abdomen. This discovery represents the first record of such a str ucture among, dinosaurs. Although it has a number of distinct features seen in the family Ankylosauridae, a cladistic analysis placed Liaoningosaurus in the sister-family Nodosauridae. The 'intermediate' status of this taxon between the two ankylosaur families further supports the monophyly of Ankyl osauria. This finding also documents the smallest known ankylosaur specimen and first complete nodosaurid specimen from Asia.