Abstract:
China contains abundant and widely spread dinosaur fossils, including bones, eggs and tracks. This study systematically analyzes the temporal and spatial distribution of these fossils across China and examines the evolutionary trends of dinosaurs based on their distribution patterns. The findings show that: ①Jurassic dinosaur bones were mainly found in southwestern China, while Cretaceous bone fossils were widely distributed across northeastern, northern and northwestern China, with significantly higher taxonomic diversity than those during the Jurassic. ②Dinosaur eggs from the Jurassic have only been reported from Pingba, Anshun, Guizhou; Early Cretaceous dinosaur eggs are limited to northeastern China with low diversity; in contrast, Late Cretaceous dinosaur eggs are abundant and diverse, mainly found in South China. ③Dinosaur tracks have been discovered in 23 provincial-level regions spanning from the Triassic to the Cretaceous, indicating a long temporal range. Triassic tracks are restricted to Sichuan and all belong to theropods; during the Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, theropod tracks were diverse and widespread, sauropod tracks were also geographically widespread but less common, while ornithopod and ankylosaur tracks were scattered. ④The distribution of dinosaurs expanded from southwestern China during the Jurassic to northeastern, northern, northwestern, and southern regions during the Cretaceous. Taxonomically, prosauropods and sauropods dominated Jurassic assemblages, while Cretaceous faunas showed greater diversity, led by theropods, hadrosaurids, ceratopsians, and ankylosaurs. This study offers new evidence for understanding the spatiotemporal distribution and evolutionary patterns of dinosaurs in China.