Austroposeidon | |
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Twelfth neck vertebra | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | † Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | † Sauropoda |
Clade: | † Macronaria |
Clade: | † Titanosauria |
Clade: | † Lithostrotia |
Genus: | † Austroposeidon Bandeira et al., 2016 |
Species: | †A. magnificus |
Binomial name | |
†Austroposeidon magnificus Bandeira et al., 2016 | |
Austroposeidon is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Presidente Prudente Formation of Brazil. It contains one species, Austroposeidon magnificus (meaning "Magnificent Southern Poseidon"). [1]
Austroposeidon is known from a single specimen, MCT 1628-R, which consists of portions of the cervical (neck), dorsal (back), and sacral (hip) vertebrae (including a cervical rib and one complete dorsal vertebra). The specimen was discovered in the Campanian-Maastrichtian Presidente Prudente Formation of the Bauru Group by palaeontologist Llewellyn Ivor Price in an outcrop along the Raposo Tavares Road in 1953, but the remains were not described until 2016. The animal was likely preserved by a crevasse splay on a floodplain, judging by the fine sandstone that the specimen was found in. Unfortunately, the site where the specimen was recovered has now been lost to urban development after Felipe Medeiros Simbras was unable to locate the site. [1]
The genus name combines austro ("southern", as in South America, from Latin Auster, the southern wind) and poseidon, a reference to the Greek god of earthquakes of the same name. The specific name is the Latin word magnificus ("great, elevated, noble"), referring to the large size of the specimen. [1]
Austroposeidon was a large sauropod, the largest dinosaur discovered in Brazil, with the only known specimen, an adult, having a length of about 25 metres (82 ft). [1] It is therefore one the largest dinosaurs from Brazil, alongside Uberabatitan [2] .
Several traits show that Austroposeidon was a titanosaur; the hyposphene-hypantrum articulations are missing from the vertebrae, the cervical and dorsal vertebrae do not have forked neural spines, and the internal texture of the bone is camellate (punctuated by many small air chambers). The describers determined that Austroposeidon was a new genus based on a number of autapomorphies (traits unique to the known fossils) in the vertebrae: the thirteenth cervical vertebra has columnar centropostzygapophyseal laminae, and its rear centrodiapophyseal lamina splits into two prongs; the first dorsal vertebra has front and back centrodiapophyseal laminae that curve downwards and outwards, and its diapophysis stretches down to the top margin of the centrum; and the frontmost part of the spinoprezygapophyseal laminae forks in the dorsal vertebrae positioned towards the back of the torso. Additionally, Austroposeidon possesses a unique combination of other vertebral traits, not seen elsewhere among titanosaurs. [1]
A CT scan showed that the internal bone texture of the vertebrae possessed concentric, alternating rings of camellate tissue and dense tissue; the describers interpreted these as rings of growth within the bone. [1]
A phylogenetic analysis in 2016 recovered Austroposeidon as the sister taxon of the Lognkosauria. [1] An updated version was published by Silva et al. (2019), where the only significant changes from the original, based on a redescription of Uberabatitan , was the movement of Uberabatitan and Brasilotitan from Saltasaurinae to Aeolosaurini. [2]
Titanosauria |
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In 2022, Austroposeidon was recovered as a member of Lognkosauria by Navarro et al.: [3]
Lognkosauria |
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Argentinosaurus is a genus of giant sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous period in what is now Argentina. Although it is only known from fragmentary remains, Argentinosaurus is one of the largest known land animals of all time, perhaps the largest, measuring 30–35 m (98–115 ft) long and weighing 65–80 t. It was a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous. It is regarded by many paleontologists as the biggest dinosaur ever, and perhaps lengthwise the longest animal ever, though both claims have no concrete evidence yet.
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Klamelisaurus is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Shishugou Formation of China. The type species is Klamelisaurus gobiensis, which was named by Zhao Xijin in 1993, based on a partial skeleton discovered in 1982 near the abandoned town of Jiangjunmiao. Zhao described Klamelisaurus as the only member of a new subfamily, Klamelisaurinae, among the now-defunct primitive sauropod order Bothrosauropodoidea. Since Zhao's description, Klamelisaurus received limited attention from researchers until Andrew Moore and colleagues redescribed it in 2020.
Mendozasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur. It was a member of Titanosauria, which were massive sauropods that were common on the southern landmasses during the Cretaceous. It is represented by several partial skeletons from a single locality within the Coniacian Sierra Barrosa Formation in the south of Mendoza Province, northern Neuquén Basin, Argentina. The type species, Mendozasaurus neguyelap, was described by Argentine paleontologist Bernardo Javier González Riga in 2003. Mendozasaurus is the first dinosaur named from Mendoza Province, Argentina, for which it was named.
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Rocasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod that lived in South America. Rocasaurus was discovered in Argentina in 2000, within the Allen Formation which is dated to be middle Campanian to early Maastrichtian in age. This genus grew up to 8 metres (26 ft) long, making it one of the smaller sauropods. It seems to be closely related to saltasaurid dinosaurs, like Saltasaurus and Neuquensaurus.
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Uberabatitan is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. It is known from bones including neck, back, and tail vertebrae, pelvic bones, and limb bones. These fossils were found in the uppermost portion of the Maastrichtian-age Serra da Galga Formation of the Bauru Group, in Uberaba, Minas Gerais. The type species, described by Salgado and Carvalho in 2008, is U. ribeiroi. To date, it is the most recent titanosaur from Bauru Group rocks; other titanosaurs from the Bauru Group, including Baurutitan and Trigonosaurus, come from lower levels.
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Brasilotitan is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Adamantina Formation of Brazil. The type species is Brasilotitan nemophagus. Brasilotitan was a small titanosaur with a squared-off snout, and may be closely related to another Brazilian titanosaur, Uberabatitan.
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Arrudatitan is an extinct genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian)-aged Adamantina Formation of Brazil. The type species, A. maximus, was named and described in 2011 as a species of Aeolosaurus, but was separated into its own genus in 2021. It was relatively gracile for a titanosaur.
Ibirania is a genus of dwarf saltasaurine titanosaur dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous São José do Rio Preto Formation of Southeast Brazil. The type species is Ibirania parva. It is one of the smallest sauropods known to date, comparable in size to the titanosaur Magyarosaurus.
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