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Mocho P, Escaso F, Marcos-Fernández F, Páramo A, Sanz JL, Vidal D, Ortega F. A Spanish saltasauroid titanosaur reveals Europe as a melting pot of endemic and immigrant sauropods in the Late Cretaceous. Commun Biol 2024; 7:1016. [PMID: 39232208 PMCID: PMC11375222 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06653-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2024] [Indexed: 09/06/2024] Open
Abstract
A new lithostrotian titanosaur, Qunkasaura pintiquiniestra gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a single partial skeleton from the late Campanian-early Maastrichtian fossil-site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain). This new taxon is supported by an exclusive combination of characters that highlights strong convergences with members of the South American Aeolosaurini. Qunkasaura allows to reorganise the complex phylogenetic relationships of the increasingly diverse finicretaceous sauropods of Europe. Phylogenetic analyses places Qunkasaura within Saltasauridae and possibly Opisthocoelicaudiinae, together with Abditosaurus. A new clade is established, Lohuecosauria, including Saltasaurus, Lohuecotitan, their most recent common ancestor and all its descendants. Two distinct Ibero-Armorican Campanian-Maastrichtian saltasauroid lineages are recognised: (i) Lirainosaurinae that is exclusive from Europe, and (ii) a saltasaurid lineage with possible opisthocoelicaudiine affinities, with a Laurasian distribution. Lirainosaurinae was a relict lineage including possible dwarf forms that evolved in isolation after reaching Europe before the Late Cretaceous through the Apulian route. The occurrence of opisthocoelicaudiines in Europe may be the result of a Late Cretaceous interchange between Europe and Asia. No evidence of insular dwarfism is found in the Ibero-Armorican opisthocoelicaudiines suggesting that they may have been newcomers to the area that arrived before the 'Maastrichtian Dinosaur Turnover' in southwestern Europe.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pedro Mocho
- Instituto Dom Luiz, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal.
- Departamento de Geologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade de Lisboa, Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal.
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain.
- The Dinosaur Institute, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Fernando Escaso
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
| | - Fátima Marcos-Fernández
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
- Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
| | - Adrián Páramo
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
- Centro de Interpretación Paleontológica de La Rioja, Government of La Rioja, La Rioja, Spain
| | - José Luis Sanz
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
- Unidad de Paleontología, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- Real Academia de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Madrid, Spain
| | - Daniel Vidal
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
- Department of Organismal Biology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Francisco Ortega
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (UNED), Las Rozas de Madrid, Spain
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Groh SS, Upchurch P, Day JJ, Barrett PM. The biogeographic history of neosuchian crocodiles and the impact of saltwater tolerance variability. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230725. [PMID: 37800151 PMCID: PMC10548099 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230725] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/26/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Extant neosuchian crocodiles are represented by only 24 taxa that are confined to the tropics and subtropics. However, at other intervals during their 200 Myr evolutionary history the clade reached considerably higher levels of species-richness, matched by more widespread distributions. Neosuchians have occupied numerous habitats and niches, ranging from dwarf riverine forms to large marine predators. Despite numerous previous studies, several unsolved questions remain with respect to their biogeographic history, including the geographical origins of major groups, e.g. Eusuchia and Neosuchia itself. We carried out the most comprehensive biogeographic analysis of Neosuchia to date, based on a multivariate K-means clustering approach followed by the application of two ancestral area estimation methods (BioGeoBEARS and Bayesian ancestral location estimation) applied to two recently published phylogenies. Our results place the origin of Neosuchia in northwestern Pangaea, with subsequent radiations into Gondwana. Eusuchia probably emerged in the European archipelago during the Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous, followed by dispersals to the North American and Asian landmasses. We show that putative transoceanic dispersal events are statistically significantly less likely to happen in alligatoroids. This finding is consistent with the saltwater intolerant physiology of extant alligatoroids, bolstering inferences of such intolerance in their ancestral lineages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian S. Groh
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Quality Enhancement Directorate, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Llandaff Campus, Cardiff CF5 2YB, UK
| | - Paul Upchurch
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Julia J. Day
- Department of Genetics, Evolution and Environment, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paul M. Barrett
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
- Fossil Reptiles, Amphibians and Birds Section, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK
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Bajpai S, Datta D, Pandey P, Ghosh T, Kumar K, Bhattacharya D. Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12680. [PMID: 37542094 PMCID: PMC10403599 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2023] [Accepted: 07/30/2023] [Indexed: 08/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and Late Jurassic. Here we report the first ever remains of a dicraeosaurid sauropod from India, Tharosaurus indicus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (early-middle Bathonian) strata of Jaisalmer Basin, western India. Known from elements of the axial skeleton, the new taxon is phylogenetically among the earlier-diverging dicraeosaurids, and its stratigraphic age makes it the earliest known diplodocoid globally. Palaeobiogeographic considerations of Tharosaurus, seen in conjunction with the other Indian Jurassic sauropods, suggest that the new Indian taxon is a relic of a lineage that originated in India and underwent rapid dispersal across the rest of Pangaea. Here we emphasize the importance of Gondwanan India in tracing the origin and early evolutionary history of neosauropod dinosaurs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sunil Bajpai
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
| | - Debajit Datta
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India.
| | - Pragya Pandey
- Geological Survey of India, Raipur, Chhattisgarh, 492010, India
| | - Triparna Ghosh
- Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, Uttarakhand, 247667, India
- Geological Survey of India, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302004, India
| | - Krishna Kumar
- Geological Survey of India, Jaipur, Rajasthan, 302004, India
| | - Debasish Bhattacharya
- Central Head Quarters, Geological Survey of India, Kolkata, West Bengal, 700091, India
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Poropat SF, Mannion PD, Rigby SL, Duncan RJ, Pentland AH, Bevitt JJ, Sloan T, Elliott DA. A nearly complete skull of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae from the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Australia and implications for the early evolution of titanosaurs. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:221618. [PMID: 37063988 PMCID: PMC10090887 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.221618] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
Titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs were diverse and abundant throughout the Cretaceous, with a global distribution. However, few titanosaurian taxa are represented by multiple skeletons, let alone skulls. Diamantinasaurus matildae, from the lower Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, was heretofore represented by three specimens, including one that preserves a braincase and several other cranial elements. Herein, we describe a fourth specimen of Diamantinasaurus matildae that preserves a more complete skull-including numerous cranial elements not previously known for this taxon-as well as a partial postcranial skeleton. The skull of Diamantinasaurus matildae shows many similarities to that of the coeval Sarmientosaurus musacchioi from Argentina (e.g. quadratojugal with posterior tongue-like process; braincase with more than one ossified exit for cranial nerve V; compressed-cone-chisel-like teeth), providing further support for the inclusion of both taxa within the clade Diamantinasauria. The replacement teeth within the premaxilla of the new specimen are morphologically congruent with teeth previously attributed to Diamantinasaurus matildae, and Diamantinasauria more broadly, corroborating those referrals. Plesiomorphic characters of the new specimen include a sacrum comprising five vertebrae (also newly demonstrated in the holotype of Diamantinasaurus matildae), rather than the six or more that typify other titanosaurs. However, we demonstrate that there have been a number of independent acquisitions of a six-vertebrae sacrum among Somphospondyli and/or that there have been numerous reversals to a five-vertebrae sacrum, suggesting that sacral count is relatively plastic. Other newly identified plesiomorphic features include: the overall skull shape, which is more similar to brachiosaurids than 'derived' titanosaurs; anterior caudal centra that are amphicoelous, rather than procoelous; and a pedal phalangeal formula estimated as 2-2-3-2-0. These features are consistent with either an early-branching position within Titanosauria, or a position just outside the titanosaurian radiation, for Diamantinasauria, as indicated by alternative character weighting approaches applied in our phylogenetic analyses, and help to shed light on the early assembly of titanosaurian anatomy that has until now been obscured by a poor fossil record.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen F. Poropat
- Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre, School of Earth and Planetary Science, Curtin University, Bentley, Western Australia 6102, Australia
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Samantha L. Rigby
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Ruairidh J. Duncan
- School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia
| | - Adele H. Pentland
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Joseph J. Bevitt
- Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Sydney, New South Wales 2234, Australia
| | - Trish Sloan
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
| | - David A. Elliott
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
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Sauropods. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R52-R58. [PMID: 36693306 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.12.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
This article begins as many others on sauropods before it: "Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals to ever walk the Earth, by far". The largest sauropods were easily four times heavier than the largest land mammals (and the largest other dinosaur species, for that matter). The iconic body plan of sauropods is dominated by their very long neck, in some species exceeding 14 meters in length, provided with a relatively small head (Figure 1). The neck was mostly held horizontally or at a low angle. The massive but relatively short trunk was supported by four columnar legs, much like in an elephant. The bones in the fore foot of sauropods are oriented vertically, and some late forms even lost their finger bones, walking on their metacarpals (middle bones of the hand). The hind leg, which bore most of the weight, has a half-upright foot. The femur (thigh bone) was the largest bone in the skeleton, like in most other true land vertebrates (amniotes). The long neck was counterbalanced by the long tail, the base of which also functioned as the anchoring region of the giant muscles that pulled back the hind leg during walking.
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Wang YY, Claessens LPAM, Sullivan C. Deep reptilian evolutionary roots of a major avian respiratory adaptation. Commun Biol 2023; 6:3. [PMID: 36650231 PMCID: PMC9845227 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-04301-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2023] Open
Abstract
Vertebral ribs of the anterior thorax in extant birds bear bony prongs called uncinate processes, which improve the mechanical advantage of mm. appendicocostales to move air through the immobile lung and pneumatic air sacs. Among non-avian archosaurs, broad, cartilaginous uncinate processes are present in extant crocodylians, and likely have a ventilatory function. Preserved ossified or calcified uncinate processes are known in several non-avian dinosaurs. However, whether other fossil archosaurs possessed cartilaginous uncinate processes has been unclear. Here, we establish osteological correlates for uncinate attachment to vertebral ribs in extant archosaurs, with which we inferred the presence of uncinate processes in at least 19 fossil archosaur taxa. An ancestral state reconstruction based on the infer distribution suggests that cartilaginous uncinate processes were plesiomorphically present in Dinosauria and arguably in Archosauria, indicating that uncinate processes, and presumably their ventilatory function, have a deep evolutionary history extending back well beyond the origin of birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan-yin Wang
- grid.17089.370000 0001 2190 316XDepartment of Biological Sciences, CW 405 Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9 Canada
| | - Leon P. A. M. Claessens
- grid.5012.60000 0001 0481 6099Maastricht Science Programme, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Maastricht University, Maastricht, The Netherlands
| | - Corwin Sullivan
- grid.17089.370000 0001 2190 316XDepartment of Biological Sciences, CW 405 Biological Sciences Building, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2E9 Canada ,Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Wembley, AB T0H 3S0 Canada
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Poropat SF, Frauenfelder TG, Mannion PD, Rigby SL, Pentland AH, Sloan T, Elliott DA. Sauropod dinosaur teeth from the lower Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia and the global record of early titanosauriforms. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220381. [PMID: 35845848 PMCID: PMC9277269 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220381] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, has produced several partial sauropod skeletons, but cranial remains-including teeth-remain rare. Herein, we present the first description of sauropod teeth from this formation, based on specimens from three separate sites. An isolated tooth and a dentary fragment from the Diamantinasaurus matildae type locality are considered to be referable to that titanosaurian taxon. A single tooth from the D. matildae referred specimen site is similarly regarded as being part of that individual. Seventeen teeth from a new site that are morphologically uniform, and similar to the teeth from the two Diamantinasaurus sites, are assigned to Diamantinasauria. All sauropod teeth recovered from the Winton Formation to date are compressed-cone-chisel-shaped, have low slenderness index values (2.00-2.88), are lingually curved at their apices, mesiodistally convex on their lingual surfaces, and lack prominent carinae and denticles. They are markedly different from the chisel-like teeth of derived titanosaurs, more closely resembling the teeth of early branching members of the titanosauriform radiation. This provides further support for a 'basal' titanosaurian position for Diamantinasauria. Scanning electron microscope microwear analysis of the wear facets of several teeth reveals more scratches than pits, implying that diamantinasaurians were mid-height (1-10 m) feeders. With a view to assessing the spatio-temporal distribution of sauropod tooth morphotypes before and after deposition of the Winton Formation, we provide a comprehensive continent-by-continent review of the early titanosauriform global record (Early to early Late Cretaceous). This indicates that throughout the Early-early Late Cretaceous, sauropod faunas transitioned from being quite diverse at higher phylogenetic levels and encompassing a range of tooth morphologies at the start of the Berriasian, to faunas comprising solely titanosaurs with limited dental variability by the end-Turonian. Furthermore, this review highlights the different ways in which this transition unfolded on each continent, including the earliest records of titanosaurs with narrow-crowned teeth on each continent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen F. Poropat
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Natural History Museum, The Jump-Up, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, John Street, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Timothy G. Frauenfelder
- School of Environmental and Rural Science, University of New England, Armidale, New South Wales 2351, Australia
| | - Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Samantha L. Rigby
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Natural History Museum, The Jump-Up, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, John Street, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Adele H. Pentland
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Natural History Museum, The Jump-Up, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
- School of Science, Computing and Engineering Technologies, Swinburne University of Technology, John Street, Hawthorn, Victoria 3122, Australia
| | - Trish Sloan
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Natural History Museum, The Jump-Up, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
| | - David A. Elliott
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Natural History Museum, The Jump-Up, Winton, Queensland 4735, Australia
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Lefebvre R, Houssaye A, Mallison H, Cornette R, Allain R. A path to gigantism: Three‐dimensional study of the sauropodomorph limb long bone shape variation in the context of the emergence of the sauropod bauplan. J Anat 2022; 241:297-336. [PMID: 35249216 PMCID: PMC9296025 DOI: 10.1111/joa.13646] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2021] [Revised: 02/09/2022] [Accepted: 02/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Sauropodomorph dinosaurs include the largest terrestrial animals that ever lived on Earth. The early representatives of this clade were, however, relatively small and partially to totally bipedal, conversely to the gigantic and quadrupedal sauropods. Although the sauropod bauplan is well defined, notably by the acquisition of columnar limbs, the evolutionary sequence leading to its emergence remains debated. Here, we aim to tackle this evolutionary episode by investigating shape variation in the six limb long bones for the first time using three‐dimensional geometric morphometrics. The morphological features of the forelimb zeugopod bones related to the sauropod bauplan tend to appear abruptly, whereas the pattern is more gradual for the hindlimb zeugopod bones. The stylopod bones tend to show the same pattern as their respective zeugopods. The abrupt emergence of the sauropod forelimb questions the locomotor abilities of non‐sauropodan sauropodomorphs inferred as quadrupeds. Features characterizing sauropods tend to corroborate a view of their locomotion mainly based on stylopod retraction. An allometric investigation of the shape variation in accordance with size highlight differences in hindlimb bone allometries between the sauropods and the non‐sauropodan sauropodomorphs. These differences notably correspond to an unexpected robustness decrease trend in the sauropod hindlimb zeugopod. In addition to forelimb bones that appear to be proportionally more gracile than in non‐sauropodan sauropodomorphs, sauropods may have relied on limb architecture and features related to the size increase, rather than general robustness, to deal with the role of weight‐bearing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Lefebvre
- Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Évolution, UMR 7179, MNHN, CNRS Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle Paris France
| | - Alexandra Houssaye
- Mécanismes Adaptatifs et Évolution, UMR 7179, MNHN, CNRS Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle Paris France
| | | | - Raphaël Cornette
- Institut de Systématique, Évolution, Biodiversité, UMR7205, MNHN, CNRS, SU, EPHE, UA Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle Paris France
| | - Ronan Allain
- Centre de Recherche en Paléontologie – Paris, UMR 7207, MNHN, CNRS, SU Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle Paris France
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Newly detected data from Haestasaurus and review of sauropod skin morphology suggests Early Jurassic origin of skin papillae. Commun Biol 2022; 5:122. [PMID: 35145214 PMCID: PMC8831608 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-022-03062-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Accepted: 01/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Discovered in 1852, the scaly skin belonging to Haestasaurus becklesii was the first to be described in any non-avian dinosaur. Accordingly, it has played a crucial role in the reconstruction of sauropod integument and dinosaurs more broadly. Here, we reassess this historic specimen using Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence (LSF), revealing extensive, previously unknown regions of skin that augment prior interpretations of its integumentary morphology and taphonomy. Under white light, polygonal–subrounded, convex scales are visible on one side of the block (‘side A’), but LSF reveals extensive smaller and more flattened scales, which are diagenetically fragmented, on the reverse block surface (‘side B’). Contrary to the prior interpretation that the visible scales are the epidermal undersides, the presence of convex, intrascale papilliform textures on side A suggests that the external skin surface is exposed. We define intrascale papillae and provide a review of sauropod skin morphology, which clarifies that intrascale papillae are unique to and widespread across stem Neosauropoda, and likely have an evolutionary origin in the Early Jurassic. Intrascale papillae may ultimately have been integral to the evolution of gigantism in this charismatic clade. Haestasaurus becklesii claims the crown as owner of the first non-avian dinosaur skin to ever be described. Using modern imaging approaches, and considering known fossil skin across the long-necked sauropod dinosaurs, an Early Jurassic origin of the papillae within their scales is suggested.
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Liao CC, Moore A, Jin C, Yang TR, Shibata M, Jin F, Wang B, Jin D, Guo Y, Xu X. A possible brachiosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the mid-Cretaceous of northeastern China. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11957. [PMID: 34484987 PMCID: PMC8381880 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11957] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2021] [Accepted: 07/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Brachiosauridae is a lineage of titanosauriform sauropods that includes some of the most iconic non-avian dinosaurs. Undisputed brachiosaurid fossils are known from the Late Jurassic through the Early Cretaceous of North America, Africa, and Europe, but proposed occurrences outside this range have proven controversial. Despite occasional suggestions that brachiosaurids dispersed into Asia, to date no fossils have provided convincing evidence for a pan-Laurasian distribution for the clade, and the failure to discover brachiosaurid fossils in the well-sampled sauropod-bearing horizons of the Early Cretaceous of Asia has been taken to evidence their genuine absence from the continent. Here we report on an isolated sauropod maxilla from the middle Cretaceous (Albian-Cenomanian) Longjing Formation of the Yanji basin of northeast China. Although the specimen preserves limited morphological information, it exhibits axially twisted dentition, a shared derived trait otherwise known only in brachiosaurids. Referral of the specimen to the Brachiosauridae receives support from phylogenetic analysis under both equal and implied weights parsimony, providing the most convincing evidence to date that brachiosaurids dispersed into Asia at some point in their evolutionary history. Inclusion in our phylogenetic analyses of an isolated sauropod dentary from the same site, for which an association with the maxilla is possible but uncertain, does not substantively alter these results. We consider several paleobiogeographic scenarios that could account for the occurrence of a middle Cretaceous Asian brachiosaurid, including dispersal from either North America or Europe during the Early Cretaceous. The identification of a brachiosaurid in the Longshan fauna, and the paleobiogeographic histories that could account for its presence there, are hypotheses that can be tested with continued study and excavation of fossils from the Longjing Formation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chun-Chi Liao
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, Beijing, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Andrew Moore
- Department of Anatomical Sciences, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, NY, USA
| | - Changzhu Jin
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Tzu-Ruei Yang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Masateru Shibata
- Fukui Prefectural Dinosaur Museum, Fukui, Japan
- Institute of Dinosaur Research, Fukui Prefectural University, Fukui, Japan
| | - Feng Jin
- Yanji Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources, Yanji, China
- Yanji Paleontological Research Centre, Yanji, China
- Yanji Dinosaur Museum, Yanji, China
| | - Bing Wang
- Yanji Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources, Yanji, China
- Yanji Paleontological Research Centre, Yanji, China
- Yanji Dinosaur Museum, Yanji, China
| | - Dongchun Jin
- Yanji Municipal Bureau of Land and Resources, Yanji, China
- Yanji Paleontological Research Centre, Yanji, China
- Yanji Dinosaur Museum, Yanji, China
| | - Yu Guo
- The Geological Museum of China, Beijing, Beijing, China
| | - Xing Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Beijing, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, Beijing, China
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12
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Wang X, Bandeira KLN, Qiu R, Jiang S, Cheng X, Ma Y, Kellner AWA. The first dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Hami Pterosaur Fauna, China. Sci Rep 2021; 11:14962. [PMID: 34385481 PMCID: PMC8361124 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-94273-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Early Cretaceous Hami Pterosaur Fauna in Northwest China preserves a large number of specimens of the sexually dimorphic pteranodontoid pterosaur Hamipterus tianshanensis, including 3D eggs and embryos. During the last decade, several more fossils have been collected in this area, including three somphospondylan sauropod specimens. The first is Silutitan sinensis gen. et sp. nov., which consists of an articulated middle to posterior cervical vertebrae series. The second, Hamititan xinjiangensis gen. et sp. nov., consists of an incomplete articulated caudal sequence that could be assigned to lithostrotian titanosaurs based on the strongly procoelous caudal vertebrae with lateral concave surface, as well as marked ventrolateral ridges. The third specimen consists of four sacral vertebral elements, apparently unfused, with exposed camellate internal bone and regarded as somphospondylan. Cladistic analyses based on different datasets recovered Silutitan sinensis as an euhelopodid closely related to Euhelopus and Hamititan xinjiangensis as a titanosaur. Besides the pterosaur Hamipterus and one theropod tooth, these dinosaurs are the first vertebrates reported in this region, increasing the diversity of the fauna as well as the information on Chinese sauropods, further supporting a widespread diversification of somphospondylans during the Early Cretaceous of Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaolin Wang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China.
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China.
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China.
| | - Kamila L N Bandeira
- Laboratory of Systematics and Taphonomy of Fossil Vertebrates, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro, 20940-040, Brazil
| | - Rui Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China
- Beijing Museum of Natural History, Beijing, 100050, China
| | - Shunxing Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100044, China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, 100044, China
| | - Xin Cheng
- Laboratório de Paleontologia da URCA, Universidade Regional do Cariri, Rua Carolino Sucupira, s/n, Crato, 63100-000, Brazil
- College of Earth Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, 130061, China
| | | | - Alexander W A Kellner
- Laboratory of Systematics and Taphonomy of Fossil Vertebrates, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Museu Nacional/Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro , Rio de Janeiro, 20940-040, Brazil.
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13
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Mannion PD, Tschopp E, Whitlock JA. Anatomy and systematics of the diplodocoid Amphicoelias altus supports high sauropod dinosaur diversity in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the USA. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:210377. [PMID: 34150318 PMCID: PMC8206699 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.210377] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 05/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Sauropod dinosaurs were an abundant and diverse component of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation of the USA, with 24 currently recognized species. However, some authors consider this high diversity to have been ecologically unviable and the validity of some species has been questioned, with suggestions that they represent growth series (ontogimorphs) of other species. Under this scenario, high sauropod diversity in the Late Jurassic of North America is greatly overestimated. One putative ontogimorph is the enigmatic diplodocoid Amphicoelias altus, which has been suggested to be synonymous with Diplodocus. Given that Amphicoelias was named first, it has priority and thus Diplodocus would become its junior synonym. Here, we provide a detailed re-description of A. altus in which we restrict it to the holotype individual and support its validity, based on three autapomorphies. Constraint analyses demonstrate that its phylogenetic position within Diplodocoidea is labile, but it seems unlikely that Amphicoelias is synonymous with Diplodocus. As such, our re-evaluation also leads us to retain Diplodocus as a distinct genus. There is no evidence to support the view that any of the currently recognized Morrison sauropod species are ontogimorphs. Available data indicate that sauropod anatomy did not dramatically alter once individuals approached maturity. Furthermore, subadult sauropod individuals are not prone to stemward slippage in phylogenetic analyses, casting doubt on the possibility that their taxonomic affinities are substantially misinterpreted. An anatomical feature can have both an ontogenetic and phylogenetic signature, but the former does not outweigh the latter when other characters overwhelmingly support the affinities of a taxon. Many Morrison Formation sauropods were spatio-temporally and/or ecologically separated from one another. Combined with the biases that cloud our reading of the fossil record, we contend that the number of sauropod dinosaur species in the Morrison Formation is currently likely to be underestimated, not overestimated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Emanuel Tschopp
- Centrum für Naturkunde, Universität Hamburg, 20146 Hamburg, Germany
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, Central Park West at 79th Street, New York, NY 10024-5192, USA
| | - John A. Whitlock
- Department of Science and Mathematics, Mount Aloysius College, Cresson, PA 16630-1999, USA
- Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh, PA 15213-4007, USA
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14
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Hocknull SA, Wilkinson M, Lawrence RA, Konstantinov V, Mackenzie S, Mackenzie R. A new giant sauropod, Australotitan cooperensis gen. et sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia. PeerJ 2021; 9:e11317. [PMID: 34164230 PMCID: PMC8191491 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.11317] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
A new giant sauropod, Australotitan cooperensis gen. et sp. nov., represents the first record of dinosaurs from the southern-central Winton Formation of the Eromanga Basin, Australia. We estimate the type locality to be 270–300 m from the base of the Winton Formation and compare this to the semi-contemporaneous sauropod taxa, Diamantinasaurus matildaeHocknull et al., 2009, Wintonotitan wattsiHocknull et al., 2009 and Savannasaurus elliottorumPoropat et al., 2016. The new titanosaurian is the largest dinosaur from Australia as represented by osteological remains and based on limb-size comparisons it reached a size similar to that of the giant titanosaurians from South America. Using 3-D surface scan models we compare features of the appendicular skeleton that differentiate Australotitan cooperensis gen. et sp. nov. as a new taxon. A key limitation to the study of sauropods is the inability to easily and directly compare specimens. Therefore, 3-D cybertypes have become a more standard way to undertake direct comparative assessments. Uncoloured, low resolution, and uncharacterized 3-D surface models can lead to misinterpretations, in particular identification of pre-, syn- and post-depositional distortion. We propose a method for identifying, documenting and illustrating these distortions directly onto the 3-D geometric surface of the models using a colour reference scheme. This new method is repeatable for researchers when observing and documenting specimens including taphonomic alterations and geometric differences. A detailed comparative and preliminary computational phylogenetic assessment supports a shared ancestry for all four Winton Formation taxa, albeit with limited statistical support. Palaeobiogeographical interpretations from these resultant phylogenetic hypotheses remain equivocal due to contrary Asian and South American relationships with the Australian taxa. Temporal and palaeoenvironmental differences between the northern and southern-central sauropod locations are considered to explain the taxonomic and morphological diversity of sauropods from the Winton Formation. Interpretations for this diversity are explored, including an eco-morphocline and/or chronocline across newly developed terrestrial environments as the basin fills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Scott A Hocknull
- Geosciences, Queensland Museum, Hendra, Brisbane City, Australia.,Biosciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | | | | | - Stuart Mackenzie
- Eromanga Natural History Museum, Eromanga, Queensland, Australia
| | - Robyn Mackenzie
- Eromanga Natural History Museum, Eromanga, Queensland, Australia
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15
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Schroeder K, Lyons SK, Smith FA. The influence of juvenile dinosaurs on community structure and diversity. Science 2021; 371:941-944. [PMID: 33632845 DOI: 10.1126/science.abd9220] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Despite dominating biodiversity in the Mesozoic, dinosaurs were not speciose. Oviparity constrained even gigantic dinosaurs to less than 15 kg at birth; growth through multiple morphologies led to the consumption of different resources at each stage. Such disparity between neonates and adults could have influenced the structure and diversity of dinosaur communities. Here, we quantified this effect for 43 communities across 136 million years and seven continents. We found that megatheropods (more than 1000 kg) such as tyrannosaurs had specific effects on dinosaur community structure. Although herbivores spanned the body size range, communities with megatheropods lacked carnivores weighing 100 to 1000 kg. We demonstrate that juvenile megatheropods likely filled the mesocarnivore niche, resulting in reduced overall taxonomic diversity. The consistency of this pattern suggests that ontogenetic niche shift was an important factor in generating dinosaur community structure and diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katlin Schroeder
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA.
| | - S Kathleen Lyons
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA
| | - Felisa A Smith
- Department of Biology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131, USA
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16
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Averianov A, Sues HD. First rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur from Asia. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0246620. [PMID: 33626060 PMCID: PMC7904184 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Dzharatitanis kingi gen. et sp. nov. is based on an isolated anterior caudal vertebra (USNM 538127) from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) Bissekty Formation at Dzharakuduk, Uzbekistan. Phylogenetic analysis places the new taxon within the diplodocoid clade Rebbachisauridae. This is the first rebbachisaurid reported from Asia and one of the youngest rebbachisaurids in the known fossil record. The caudal is characterized by a slightly opisthocoelous centrum, 'wing-like' transverse processes with large but shallow PRCDF and POCDF, and the absence of a hyposphenal ridge and of TPRL and TPOL. The neural spine has high SPRL, SPDL, SPOL, and POSL and is pneumatized. The apex of neural spine is transversely expanded and bears triangular lateral processes. The new taxon shares with Demandasaurus and the Wessex rebbachisaurid a high SPDL on the lateral side of the neural spine, separated from SPRL and SPOL. This possibly suggests derivation of Dzharatitanis from European rebbachisaurids. This is the second sauropod group identified in the assemblage of non-avian dinosaurs from the Bissekty Formation, in addition to a previously identified indeterminate titanosaurian.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexander Averianov
- Department of Theriology, Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, St. Petersburg, Russia
| | - Hans-Dieter Sues
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., United States of America
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17
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Poropat SF, Kundrát M, Mannion PD, Upchurch P, Tischler TR, Elliott DA. Second specimen of the Late Cretaceous Australian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae provides new anatomical information on the skull and neck of early titanosaurs. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa173] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
The titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae is represented by two individuals from the Cenomanian–lower Turonian ‘upper’ Winton Formation of central Queensland, north-eastern Australia. The type specimen has been described in detail, whereas the referred specimen, which includes several elements not present in the type series (partial skull, atlas, axis and postaxial cervical vertebrae), has only been described briefly. Herein, we provide a comprehensive description of this referred specimen, including a thorough assessment of the external and internal anatomy of the braincase, and identify several new autapomorphies of D. matildae. Via an expanded data matrix consisting of 125 taxa scored for 552 characters, we recover a close, well-supported relationship between Diamantinasaurus and its contemporary, Savannasaurus elliottorum. Unlike previous iterations of this data matrix, under a parsimony framework we consistently recover Diamantinasaurus and Savannasaurus as early-diverging members of Titanosauria using both equal weighting and extended implied weighting, with the overall topology largely consistent between analyses. We erect a new clade, named Diamantinasauria herein, that also includes the contemporaneous Sarmientosaurus musacchioi from southern Argentina, which shares several cranial features with the referred Diamantinasaurus specimen. Thus, Diamantinasauria is represented in the mid-Cretaceous of both South America and Australia, supporting the hypothesis that some titanosaurians, in addition to megaraptoran theropods and possibly some ornithopods, were able to disperse between these two continents via Antarctica. Conversely, there is no evidence for rebbachisaurids in Australia, which might indicate that they were unable to expand into high latitudes before their extinction in the Cenomanian–Turonian. Likewise, there is no evidence for titanosaurs with procoelous caudal vertebrae in the mid-Cretaceous Australian record, despite scarce but compelling evidence for their presence in both Antarctica and New Zealand during the Campanian–Maastrichtian. These later titanosaurs presumably dispersed into these landmasses from South America before the Campanian (~85 Mya), when seafloor spreading between Zealandia and Australia commenced. Although Australian mid-Cretaceous dinosaur faunas appear to be cosmopolitan at higher taxonomic levels, closer affinities with South America at finer scales are becoming better supported for sauropods, theropods and ornithopods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen F Poropat
- Faculty of Science, Engineering and Technology, Swinburne University of Technology, John Street, Hawthorn, VIC, Australia
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, The Jump-Up, Winton, QLD, Australia
| | - Martin Kundrát
- Center for Interdisciplinary Biosciences, Technology and Innovation Park, University of Pavol Jozef Šafárik, Košice, Slovakia
| | - Philip D Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London, UK
| | - Paul Upchurch
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London, UK
| | - Travis R Tischler
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, The Jump-Up, Winton, QLD, Australia
| | - David A Elliott
- Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, The Jump-Up, Winton, QLD, Australia
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18
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Royo-Torres R, Cobos A, Mocho P, Alcalá L. Origin and evolution of turiasaur dinosaurs set by means of a new ‘rosetta’ specimen from Spain. Zool J Linn Soc 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa091] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Turiasauria is a non-neosauropod eusauropod clade of dinosaurs known since 2006, when the description of Turiasaurus was published. This group, including Losillasaurus, was originally thought to have been restricted to the Late Jurassic of Spain. However, over the last decade, our knowledge of this group has improved with the discovery of new taxa such as Zby from the Portuguese Late Jurassic, Tendaguria from the Tanzanian Late Jurassic and Mierasaurus and Moabosaurus from the Early Cretaceous of the USA. Here, we describe a new specimen of Losillasaurus from Spain, which allows us to better understand the character variation in the cranial and postcranial skeleton. The review of some sauropod fauna of Madagascar, and inclusion of some specimens of Turiasauria, suggest that this clade might have arisen in the Middle Jurassic. According to our phylogenetic results, a specimen found in the early 19th century in Madagascar is shown to be the oldest and only member of Turiasauria represented in the Middle Jurassic thus far. This is named Narindasaurus thevenini gen. & sp. nov.. Turiasauria is thus known from the Middle Jurassic in Pangaea, diversified in the Late Jurassic in Gondwana and Laurasia, and dispersed during the Early Cretaceous to North America.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafael Royo-Torres
- Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de Paleontología, Teruel, Spain
| | - Alberto Cobos
- Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de Paleontología, Teruel, Spain
| | - Pedro Mocho
- Instituto Dom Luiz, Universidade de Lisboa, Edifício C6, Campo Grande, Lisboa, Portugal
- Grupo de Biología Evolutiva, UNED, Facultad de Ciencias, UNED, Madrid, Spain
| | - Luis Alcalá
- Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis/Museo Aragonés de Paleontología, Teruel, Spain
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19
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Tschopp E, Mehling C, Norell MA. Reconstructing the Specimens and History of Howe Quarry (Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation; Wyoming). AMERICAN MUSEUM NOVITATES 2020. [DOI: 10.1206/3956.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Tschopp
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Carl Mehling
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
| | - Mark A. Norell
- Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York
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20
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Han F, Xu X, Sullivan C, Huang L, Guo Y, Wu R. New titanosauriform (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Daijiaping Formation of southern China. PeerJ 2019; 7:e8237. [PMID: 31875155 PMCID: PMC6927344 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8237] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2019] [Accepted: 11/19/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs were once considered rare in the Upper Cretaceous of Asia, but a number of titanosauriforms from this stratigraphic interval have been discovered in China in recent years. In fact, all adequately known Cretaceous Asian sauropods are titanosauriforms, but only a few have been well studied, lending significance to any new anatomical information that can be extracted from Asia’s Cretaceous sauropod record. Here we give a detailed description of some titanosauriform bones recovered recently from the Upper Cretaceous Daijiaping Formation of Tianyuan County, Zhuzhou City, Hunan Province, southern China. The occurrence of this material in Hunan increases the known geographic range of titanosauriforms in eastern Asia. Although all of the specimens discussed in this paper can be assigned to Titanosauriformes at least tentatively, some bones display a limited number of features that are more typical of basal sauropods and/or derived diplodocoids, suggesting complex patterns of character evolution within Neosauropoda.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fenglu Han
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, China
| | - Xing Xu
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, China
| | - Corwin Sullivan
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.,Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, Wembley, Canada
| | - Leqing Huang
- Hunan Institute of Geological Survey, Changsha, China
| | - Yu Guo
- The Geological Museum of China, Beijing, China
| | - Rui Wu
- School of Earth Sciences, China University of Geosciences (Wuhan), Wuhan, China
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21
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Knoll F, Lautenschlager S, Valentin X, Díez Díaz V, Pereda Suberbiola X, Garcia G. First palaeoneurological study of a sauropod dinosaur from France and its phylogenetic significance. PeerJ 2019; 7:e7991. [PMID: 31763068 PMCID: PMC6871212 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.7991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2019] [Accepted: 10/04/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite continuous improvements, our knowledge of the palaeoneurology of sauropod dinosaurs is still deficient. This holds true even for Titanosauria, which is a particularly speciose clade of sauropods with representatives known from numerous Cretaceous sites in many countries on all continents. The data currently available regarding the palaeoneurology of titanosaurs is strongly biased towards Gondwanan forms (Argentina above all, but also India, Malawi and Australia). In contrast, the palaeoneurology of Laurasian titanosaurs is known only from a few taxa from Spain and Uzbekistan, despite the discovery in other countries of Laurasia of a number of neurocranial remains that would lend themselves well to investigations of this kind. To fill in this gap in our knowledge, we subjected a titanosaurian braincase from the uppermost Upper Cretaceous of southern France to X-ray computed tomographic scanning, allowing the generation of 3D renderings of the endocranial cavity enclosing the brain, cranial nerves and blood vessels, as well as the labyrinth of the inner ear. These reconstructions are used to clarify the phylogenetic position of the specimen from the Fox-Amphoux-Métisson site. A combination of characters, including the presence of two hypoglossal rami on the endocast, the average degree of development of the dorsal-head/caudal-middle-cerebral vein system and the relatively short and subequal lengths of the ipsilateral semicircular canals of the labyrinth, are particularly revealing in this respect. They suggest that, compared with the few other Laurasian titanosaurs for which in-depth palaeoneurological data are available, the French taxon is more derived than the distinctly more ancient, possibly non-lithostrotian titanosaur from the Uzbek site of Dzharakuduk but more basal than derived saltasaurids, such as the coeval or slightly more recent forms from the Spanish locality of Lo Hueco.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabien Knoll
- ARAID-Fundación Conjunto Paleontológico de Teruel-Dinópolis, Teruel, Spain.,Departamento de Paleobiología, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
| | - Stephan Lautenschlager
- School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Xavier Valentin
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
| | - Verónica Díez Díaz
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz-Institut für Evolutions-und Biodiversitätsforschung, Berlin, Germany.,Humboldt Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Xabier Pereda Suberbiola
- Departamento de Estratigrafía y Paleontología, Universidad del País Vasco/Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, Bilbao, Spain
| | - Géraldine Garcia
- Laboratoire de Paléontologie, Evolution, Paléoécosystèmes et Paléoprimatologie, Université de Poitiers, Poitiers, France
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22
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Tschopp E, Maidment SC, Lamanna MC, Norell MA. Reassessment of a Historical Collection of Sauropod Dinosaurs from the Northern Morrison Formation of Wyoming, with Implications for Sauropod Biogeography. BULLETIN OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY 2019. [DOI: 10.1206/0003-0090.437.1.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Emanuel Tschopp
- American Museum of Natural History, Division of Paleontology, New York; Museu da Lourinhã, Lourinhã, Portugal
| | | | - Matthew C. Lamanna
- Section of Vertebrate Paleontology, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh
| | - Mark A. Norell
- American Museum of Natural History, Division of Paleontology, New York
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23
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Mannion PD, Upchurch P, Jin X, Zheng W. New information on the Cretaceous sauropod dinosaurs of Zhejiang Province, China: impact on Laurasian titanosauriform phylogeny and biogeography. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2019; 6:191057. [PMID: 31598266 PMCID: PMC6731702 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.191057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2019] [Accepted: 08/01/2019] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Titanosaurs were a globally distributed clade of Cretaceous sauropods. Historically regarded as a primarily Gondwanan radiation, there is a growing number of Eurasian taxa, with several putative titanosaurs contemporaneous with, or even pre-dating, the oldest known Southern Hemisphere remains. The early Late Cretaceous Jinhua Formation, in Zhejiang Province, China, has yielded two putative titanosaurs, Jiangshanosaurus lixianensis and Dongyangosaurus sinensis. Here, we provide a detailed re-description and diagnosis of Jiangshanosaurus, as well as new anatomical information on Dongyangosaurus. Previously, a 'derived' titanosaurian placement for Jiangshanosaurus was primarily based on the presence of procoelous anterior caudal centra. We show that this taxon had amphicoelous anterior-middle caudal centra. Its only titanosaurian synapomorphy is that the dorsal margins of the scapula and coracoid are approximately level with one another. Dongyangosaurus can clearly be differentiated from Jiangshanosaurus, and displays features that indicate a closer relationship to the titanosaur radiation. Revised scores for both taxa are incorporated into an expanded phylogenetic data matrix, comprising 124 taxa scored for 548 characters. Under equal weights parsimony, Jiangshanosaurus is recovered as a member of the non-titanosaurian East Asian somphospondylan clade Euhelopodidae, and Dongyangosaurus lies just outside of Titanosauria. However, when extended implied weighting is applied, both taxa are placed within Titanosauria. Most other 'middle' Cretaceous East Asian sauropods are probably non-titanosaurian somphospondylans, but at least Xianshanosaurus appears to belong to the titanosaur radiation. Our analyses also recover the Early Cretaceous European sauropod Normanniasaurus genceyi as a 'derived' titanosaur, clustering with Gondwanan taxa. These results provide further support for a widespread diversification of titanosaurs by at least the Early Cretaceous.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D. Mannion
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Paul Upchurch
- Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Xingsheng Jin
- Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS), Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, People's Republic of China
| | - Wenjie Zheng
- Zhejiang Museum of Natural History, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310014, People's Republic of China
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy (Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS), Nanjing, Jiangsu 210008, People's Republic of China
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Mannion PD. A turiasaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Wealden Supergroup of the United Kingdom. PeerJ 2019; 7:e6348. [PMID: 30697494 PMCID: PMC6348093 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.6348] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2018] [Accepted: 12/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The Jurassic/Cretaceous (J/K) boundary, 145 million years ago, has long been recognised as an extinction event or faunal turnover for sauropod dinosaurs, with many ‘basal’ lineages disappearing. However, recently, a number of ‘extinct’ groups have been recognised in the Early Cretaceous, including diplodocids in Gondwana, and non-titanosauriform macronarians in Laurasia. Turiasauria, a clade of non-neosauropod eusauropods, was originally thought to have been restricted to the Late Jurassic of western Europe. However, its distribution has recently been extended to the Late Jurassic of Tanzania (Tendaguria tanzaniensis), as well as to the Early Cretaceous of the USA (Mierasaurus bobyoungi and Moabosaurus utahensis), demonstrating the survival of another ‘basal’ clade across the J/K boundary. Teeth from the Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous of western Europe and North Africa have also tentatively been attributed to turiasaurs, whilst recent phylogenetic analyses recovered Late Jurassic taxa from Argentina and China as further members of Turiasauria. Here, an anterior dorsal centrum and neural arch (both NHMUK 1871) from the Early Cretaceous Wealden Supergroup of the UK are described for the first time. NHMUK 1871 shares several synapomorphies with Turiasauria, especially the turiasaurs Moabosaurus and Tendaguria, including: (1) a strongly dorsoventrally compressed centrum; (2) the retention of prominent epipophyses; and (3) an extremely low, non-bifid neural spine. NHMUK 1871 therefore represents the first postcranial evidence for Turiasauria from European deposits of Early Cretaceous age. Although turiasaurs show clear heterodont dentition, only broad, characteristically ‘heart’-shaped teeth can currently be attributed to Turiasauria with confidence. As such, several putative turiasaur occurrences based on isolated teeth from Europe, as well as the Middle Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Africa, cannot be confidently referred to Turiasauria. Unequivocal evidence for turiasaurs is therefore restricted to the late Middle Jurassic–Early Cretaceous of western Europe, the Late Jurassic of Tanzania, and the late Early Cretaceous of the USA, although remains from elsewhere might ultimately demonstrate that the group had a near-global distribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip D Mannion
- Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK
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