Article: Fulengia, a supposed early lizard reinterpreted as a prosauropod dinosaur

The skull of Fulengia youngi Carroll and Galton, a supposed lizard from the Upper Triassic/Lower Jurassic of China, is re-examined and compared with contemporary prosauropod dinosaurs. On the basis of its teeth, and the construction of the maxilla and mandible, the skull of Fulengia is reinterpreted as that of a juvenile prosauropod dinosaur. It most closely resembles specimens of Gyposaurus sinensis Young, now generally acknowledged to be juveniles of the common Lufeng anchisaurid Lufengosaurus. Fulengia youngi is formally proposed to be a junior synonym of Lufengosaurus huenei. The earliest unequivocal fossils of lizards are of Upper Jurassic age.