New Spinicaudatan Species of Late Jurassic Linglongta Phase of Yanliao Biota from Western Liaoning, China.

Abundant and diverse spinicaudatans are important components of the well-known Linglongta phase of the Yanliao Biota from the lower Upper Jurassic Tiaojishan Formation at the village Daxishan of Linglongta, Jianchang County, western Liaoning, north-eastern China. Herein a new spinicaudatan species Linglongtaestheria daxishanensis gen. and sp. nov. is described. It shows distinct carapace ornamentation patterns: (1) growth bands near the umbo ornamented with polygonal small-diameter reticulation; (2) growth bands in the middle part of the carapace ornamented with evenly distributed puncta; (3) growth bands in the ventral part of the carapace ornamented with punctate reticulation and radial lirae.