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Dai H, Tan C, Xiong C, Ma Q, Li N, Yu H, Wei Z, Wang P, Yi J, Wei G, You H, Ren X. New macronarian from the Middle Jurassic of Chongqing, China: phylogenetic and biogeographic implications for neosauropod dinosaur evolution. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2022; 9:220794. [PMID: 36340515 PMCID: PMC9627447 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.220794] [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: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Macronaria is a clade of gigantic body-sized sauropod dinosaurs widely distributed from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous globally. However, its origin, early diversification, and dispersal are still controversial. Here, we report a new macronarian Yuzhoulong qurenensis gen. et sp. nov. excavated from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) Lower Shaximiao Formation. Yuzhoulong qurenensis bears a unique combination of features, such as two accessory fossae that exist on the posterior surface of dorsal diapophyses of anterior dorsal vertebrae. Results of phylogenetic analyses demonstrate it is one of the earliest-diverging macronarians. This new material represents a Middle Jurassic fossil record of macronarian sauropod worldwide and improves the understanding of the early diversity and dispersal of the Neosauropoda. This discovery further supports that sauropods achieved a more rapid and varied morphological diversity and palaeogeographical dispersal in the Middle Jurassic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hui Dai
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Chao Tan
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Can Xiong
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Qingyu Ma
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ning Li
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Haidong Yu
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Zhaoying Wei
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Ping Wang
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Jian Yi
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
- Chongqing Key Laboratory of Paleontology and Paleoenvironment Co-evolution (Sichuan-Chongqing Joint Construction), Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Guangbiao Wei
- No. 208 Hydrogeological and Engineering Geological Team, Chongqing Bureau of Geological and Mineral Resource Exploration and Development, Chongqing, People's Republic of China
| | - Hailu You
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- CAS Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Beijing, People's Republic of China
- College of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - Xinxin Ren
- Key Laboratory of Stratigraphy and Paleontology of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, People's Republic of China
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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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