Recent advances on study of hadrosaurid dinosaurs in Heilongjiang(Amur) River area between China and Russia

Four main dinosaur-bearing sites have been investigated in latest Cretaceous deposits from the Amur/Heilongjiang Region: Jiayin and Wulaga in China (Yuliangze Formation) ,Blagoveschensk and Kundur in Rus- sia (Udurchukan Formation) . More than 90% of the bones discovered in these localities belong to hollowcrested lambeosaurine hadrosaurids: Charonosaurus jiayinensis at Jiayin,Amurosaurus riabinini at Blagoveschensk, Olorotitan arharensis at Kundur,and Sahaliyania elunchunorum at Wulaga. Flat-headed hadrosaurine hadrosau- rids are much less numerous,but appear well diversified as well: Kerberosaurus manakini at Blagoveschensk, Wulagasaurus dongi at Wulaga,and a new genus at Kundur. Theropods are represented by shed teeth and isolated bones; isolated scutes and teeth discovered at Kundur are tentatively attributed to nodosaurids. Palynologi- cal studies suggest that these sites are probably synchronous with the Lancian’ vertebrate localities of western North America,which represent the youngest dinosaur faunas in this area. However,the latest Cretaceous dinosaur assemblages are completely different in the Amur/Heilongjiang region (lambeosaurines abundant,ceratopsids absent) and in western North America (ceratopsids abundant,lambeosaurines extremely rare or absent) . This probably reflects some kind of geographical barrier between both areas by Maastrichtian time rather than strong differences in palaeoecological conditions.     

A Sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of the Amur Region

Doklady Earth Sciences - A narrow-crowned sauropod tooth from the Udurchukan Formation (Maastrichtian) in the Blagoveshchensk locality (Amur Region, Russia) is morphologically identical to the...     

On paleoecology of carnivorous dinosaurs(Tyrannosauridae,Dromaeosauridae) from Late Cretaceous fossil deposits of Amur region,Russian Far East

Present article is on Russian Far East carnivorous dinosaur paleoecology.Described summary is based on detailed study and comparison of isolated shed teeth morphology.     

On paleoecology of carnivorous dinosaurs ( Tyrannosauridae，Dromaeosauridae) from Late Cretaceous fossil deposits of Amur region，Russian Far East

Present article is on Russian Far East carnivorous dinosaur paleoecology． Described summary is based on detailed study and comparison of isolated shed teeth morphology．     

Palynoflora of the Gil’chin and Dim dinosaur localities (the Zeya-Bureya Basin,Russian Far East)

The analysis of the palynological spectra from the Gil’chin and Dim dinosaur localities of the Zeya-Bureya Basin revealed that the first of them is characterized by the high abundance of Filicales spores accompanied (in descending order) by tricolpate, bisaccate conifer pollen, Ginkgocycadophytus, Taxodiaceae, Cupressaceae, Taxaceae (TCT), Ulmoideipites, and “unica”-type pollen. The spectra from the second site are dominated by Filicales spores and (second in significance) pollen of plants characteristic of river valley communities (Platanaceae and Ulmaceae) accompanied by common bisaccate conifer pollen and subordinate TCT and Ginkgocycadophytus pollen. The middle Maastrichtian bone-bearing taphocoenoses of the Gil’chin and Dim localities were formed in spacious swamped river valleys covered by ferns and taxodialeans. The Platanaceae and Ulmaceae pollen implies the development of light forests in river valleys. The Ulmaceae pollen is indicative of highly variable environments in the mid-Maastrichtian, probably, with an intermittent water influx. The low share of bissacate pollen in the palynospectra from these two localities is presumably determined by their remoteness from the slopes of the depression.