Abrosaurus

Abrosaurus (; 'delicate lizard' from the Greek '''''''''' meaning 'delicate' or 'dainty' and '''''' meaning 'lizard') is a genus of macronarian sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Period of what is now Asia. It is one of many dinosaurs found at the Dashanpu Quarry in the Sichuan Province of China. Like most sauropods, Abrosaurus was a quadrupedal herbivore. It was rather small for a sauropod, measuring no more than long. Its head was boxy and topped with a tall, bony arch containing the nostrils. The generic name refers to the nature of the skull, with large openings separated by thin, bony struts. The only named species is A. dongpoi, named after eleventh-century Chinese poet Su Shi, also known as Su Dongpo, who was born in Sichuan.

==Discovery and naming== The naming of Abrosaurus has been a long and convoluted process. Abrosaurus was discovered in 1984 and was first described in the 1986 Ph.D. thesis of Chinese paleontologist Ouyang Hui, with the specific name "A. gigantorhinus." However, the publication does not meet ICZN standards, so "Abrosaurus gigantorhinus" is considered a nomen nudum. Despite this, it has been used incorrectly in at least one paper. Ouyang formally described this species in 1989 under the specific epithet A. dongpoensis. However, in biological nomenclature, the Latin suffix -ensis is used only to honor localities and the name has since been revised to include the more correct -i suffix, used to honor male individuals. Abrosaurus dongpoi is now the accepted name for this taxon.