Gigantspinosaurus

The first fossil was found in 1985 by Ouyang Hui at Pengtang near Jinquan and was reported upon in 1986 by Gao Ruiqi and colleagues, mistaking it for a specimen of Tuojiangosaurus.

The name was generally considered a nomen nudum in the West,[3] until in 2006 it was disclosed that the abstract contained a sufficient description.

Public awareness of this animal was increased in early 2006 when Tracy Ford,[5] considering it a validly established taxon, published a short article on reconstructing it.

Susannah Maidment and Wei Guangbiao in 2006 concluded that G. sichuanensis was a valid taxon in their review of Late Jurassic Chinese stegosaurs, but did not redescribe it because at that time it was under study by Zigong Dinosaur Museum staff.

[6] The holotype, ZDM 0019, was found in layers of the Upper Shaximiao Formation of Zigong (Sichuan province), which date to the Oxfordian.

It consists of a partial skeleton of a probably subadult individual missing the skull (though the lower jaws are present), hind feet, and the tail end.

Skeletal diagram with known elements in white and unknown elements in grey
Skin impression of Gigantspinosaurus on display in the Zigong Dinosaur Museum
Restoration of Gigantspinosaurus (middle) and other dinosaurs from the Shaximiao Formation