A New Specimen of Crichtonpelta benxiensis(Dinosauria:Ankylosaurinae) from the Mid-Cretaceous of Liaoning Province,China

A new specimen of ankylosaurine dinosaur Crichtonpelta benxiensis is described.The new specimen is based on a nearly completely preserved skull from the same quarry as the holotype of the mid-Cretaceous Sunjiawan Formation in Shuangmiao,Beipiao City,Liaoning Province,China.Cladistic analysis incorporating new information from the new specimen resolves Crichtonpelta benxiensis is more advanced than basal members of Ankylosauridae(Kunbarrasaurus,Liaoningosaurus,Chuanqilong,Cedarpelta,Gobisaurus and Shamosaurus) and represents the first diverging branch of Ankylosaurinae.Comparisons to other mid-Cretaceous ankylosaurid-bearing dinosaur assemblages in northern China indicate a late Early Cretaceous to early Late Cretaceous age for the Shuangmiao dinosaur assemblage.