Arkharavia

Last updated

Arkharavia
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 66  Ma
O
S
D
C
P
T
J
K
Pg
N
Arkharavia.png
Restoration as a somphospondylian
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Clade: Titanosauriformes
Clade: Somphospondyli
Genus: Arkharavia
Alifanov & Bolotsky, 2010
Type species
Arkharavia heterocoelica
Alifanov & Bolotsky, 2010

Arkharavia (meaning "Arkhara road") is a dubious genus of somphospondylan sauropod, but at least some of the remains probably belong to a hadrosaurid. [1] It was discovered in the Udurchukan Formation in Russia and lived during the Late Cretaceous. It was described in 2010 by Alifanov and Bolotsky and the type species is A. heterocoelica.

Contents

Description

The holotype material consists of a single anterior caudal vertebra. Also, a tooth and a few proximal tail vertebrae (from near the base of the tail) were originally described as belonging to this species, but these probably belong to an indeterminate hadrosaur. [1] [2] The vertebrae are unusual in being weakly heterocoelous, [3] which means that the centrum or body of a vertebra has saddle-shaped surfaces where it meets the vertebrae in front or behind it.

Classification

Arkharavia was originally classified as a titanosauriform sauropod, thought to be related to Chubutisaurus , a sauropod from the Cretaceous of Argentina. [3] However, further study showed that the referred vertebra in fact belonged to a hadrosaurid. [2] The holotype vertebra is currently considered an indeterminate somphospondylan. [1]

Contemporaries

Arkharavia lived in the Amur Region, which was a 'hot spot' for dinosaurs in Russia. Other dinosaurs from the area include the lambeosaurines (hollow-crested duckbills) Amurosaurus , Olorotitan , and Charonosaurus , and the saurolophine (duckbills without hollow crests) Kerberosaurus and Wulagasaurus . [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Olorotitan</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Olorotitan was a monotypic genus of lambeosaurine duck-billed dinosaur, containing a single species, Olorotitan arharensis. It was among the last surviving non-avian dinosaurs to go extinct during the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, having lived from the middle to late Maastrichtian-age of the Late Cretaceous era. The remains were found in the Udurchukan Formation beds of Kundur, Arkharinsky District, Amur Oblast, Eastern Russia, in the vicinity of the Amur River.

<i>Huabeisaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Huabeisaurus was a genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a sauropod which lived in what is present-day northern China. The type species, Huabeisaurus allocotus, was first described by Pang Qiqing and Cheng Zhengwu in 2000. Huabeisaurus is known from numerous remains found in the 1990s, which include teeth, partial limbs and vertebrae. Due to its relative completeness, Huabeisaurus represents a significant taxon for understanding sauropod evolution in Asia. Huabeisaurus comes from Kangdailiang and Houyu, Zhaojiagou Town, Tianzhen County, Shanxi province, China. The holotype was found in the unnamed upper member of the Huiquanpu Formation, which is Late Cretaceous (?Cenomanian–?Campanian) in age based on ostracods, charophytes, and fission-track dating.

<i>Charonosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Charonosaurus is a genus of dinosaur whose fossils were discovered by Godefroit, Zan & Jin in 2000, on the south bank of the Amur River, dividing China from Russia. It is monotypic, consisting of the species C. jiayinensis.

<i>Tangvayosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Tangvayosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Aptian-Albian age Lower Cretaceous Gres superieurs Formation of Savannakhet Province, Laos. It was a basal somphospondylan, about 15 m long, and is known from the remains of two or three individuals.

<i>Kerberosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Kerberosaurus was a genus of saurolophine duckbill dinosaur from the late Maastrichtian-age Upper Cretaceous Tsagayan Formation of Blagoveshchensk, Amur Region, Russia. It is based on bonebed material including skull remains indicating that it was related to Saurolophus and Prosaurolophus.

<i>Pukyongosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Pukyongosaurus is a genus of titanosauriform dinosaur that lived in South Korea during the Early Cretaceous Period. It may have been closely related to Euhelopus, and is known from a series of vertebrae in the neck and back. The characteristics that were originally used to distinguish this genus have been criticized as being either widespread or too poorly preserved to evaluate, rendering the genus an indeterminate nomen dubium among titanosauriforms. The 2022 study noted that Pukyongosaurus is probably a somphospondylan.

<i>Phuwiangosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Phuwiangosaurus is a genus of titanosaur dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian-Hauterivian) Sao Khua Formation of Thailand. The type species, P. sirindhornae, was described by Martin, Buffetaut, and Suteethorn in a 1993 press release and was formally named in 1994. The species was named to honor Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who was interested in the geology and palaeontology of Thailand, while the genus was named after the Phu Wiang area, where the fossil was discovered. The precise affinities of Phuwiangosaurus among titanosauriform sauropods are uncertain, though several studies have classified it as a euhelopodid.

Jiutaisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Quantou Formation of Jilin, China. Jiutaisaurus was a sauropod which lived during the Cretaceous. The type species, Jiutaisaurus xidiensis, was described by Wu et al. in 2006, and is based on eighteen vertebrae. It probably lived alongside Changchunsaurus and Helioceratops.

Amargatitanis is a genus of dicraeosaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age La Amarga Formation of Neuquén, Argentina. It is known from a single, incomplete postcranial skeleton consisting of a partial hindlimb, ischium, and two vertebrae. These remains were unearthed by Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1983 during an expedition by the Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales and later described as a new genus and species, Amargatitanis macni by Sebastián Apesteguía. The genus name comes from the words Amarga, where the fossils were collected, and titanis meaning "titan". Its species name is in reference to the MACN, where the remains are stored.

<i>Dongyangosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Dongyangosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. The only species is Dongyangosaurus sinensis, from which only a single fragmentary skeleton is known, coming from the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It was described and named by Lü Junchang and colleagues. Like other sauropods, Dongyangosaurus would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore.

The Udurchukan Formation is a geological formation located in Amur Region, Far East Russia. Based on palynomorphs such as Wodehouseia spinata, the Udurchukan is considered of Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous, during the Cretaceous Period.

<i>Kundurosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Kundurosaurus is an extinct genus of saurolophine hadrosaurid dinosaur known from the Latest Cretaceous of Amur Region, Far Eastern Russia. It contains a single species, Kundurosaurus nagornyi.

<i>Padillasaurus</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Padillasaurus is an extinct genus of titanosauriform sauropod known from the Early Cretaceous Paja Formation in Colombia. It contains a single species, Padillasaurus leivaensis, known only from a single partial axial skeleton. Initially described as a brachiosaurid, it was considered to be the first South American brachiosaurid ever discovered and named. Before its discovery, the only known brachiosaurid material on the continent was very fragmentary and from the Jurassic period. However, a more recent study finds it to be a basal somphospondylan.

Lohuecotitan is an extinct genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur which lived during the Late Cretaceous in Spain. The only species known in the genus is Lohuecotitan pandafilandi, described and named in 2016.

<i>Savannasaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Savannasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia. It contains one species, Savannasaurus elliottorum, named in 2016 by Stephen Poropat and colleagues. The holotype and only known specimen, originally nicknamed "Wade", is the most complete specimen of an Australian sauropod, and is held at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum. Dinosaurs known from contemporary rocks include its close relative Diamantinasaurus and the theropod Australovenator; associated teeth suggest that Australovenator may have fed on the holotype specimen.

<i>Sibirotitan</i> Extinct genus of reptiles

Sibirotitan is a genus of somphospondyl sauropod from the Ilek Formation of Russia. The type and only species is S. astrosacralis.

<i>Oceanotitan</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Oceanotitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known from the Upper Jurassic Lourinha Formation of Portugal. It is represented by a single specimen consisting of several tail vertebrae and appendicular bones. It contains one species, Oceanotitan dantasi. Oceanotitan is classified as possibly one of the earliest members of the Somphospondyli, a group of sauropods that includes the titanosaurs.

<i>Dzharatitanis</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Dzharatitanis is a genus of sauropod from the Bissekty Formation in Uzbekistan, dating to the Turonian age of the Late Cretaceous. The genus contains a single species, Dzharatitanis kingi, named after geologist Christopher King, who contributed to the Cretaceous geology of Asia. It is currently one of two known sauropods from the Bissekty Formation, alongside an indeterminate titanosaur. In its original publication it was considered to be a member of Rebbachisauridae, but later papers considered it to be a titanosaur.

Ruixinia is an extinct genus of somphospondylan titanosauriform dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian) Yixian Formation of China. The genus contains a single species, Ruixinia zhangi. The Ruixinia holotype is a partial articulated skeleton with the most complete series of caudal vertebrae known from any Asian titanosauriform.

<i>Garumbatitan</i> Genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaurs

Garumbatitan is an extinct genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur from the Cretaceous Arcillas de Morella Formation of Spain. The genus contains a single species, G. morellensis, known from multiple partial skeletons.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Mannion, Philip D.; Upchurch, Paul; Barnes, Rosie N.; Mateus, Octávio (2013). "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 168: 98–206. doi:10.1111/zoj.12029.
  2. 1 2 Godefroit, P.; Bolotsky, Y.L. & Bolotsky, I.Y. (2011). "Osteology and relationships of Olorotitan arharensis, a hollowcrested hadrosaurid dinosaur from the latest Cretaceous of Far Eastern Russia". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 57 (3): 527. doi: 10.4202/app.2011.0051 .
  3. 1 2 3 Alifanov, V. R.; Bolotsky, Y. L. (2010). "Arkharavia heterocoelica gen. et sp. nov., a new sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of the Far East of Russia". Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal (in Russian). 2010 (1): 76–83.