Clasmodosaurus

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Clasmodosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
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: Titanosauria
Genus: Clasmodosaurus
Ameghino, 1898
Species:
C. spatula
Binomial name
Clasmodosaurus spatula
Ameghino, 1898

Clasmodosaurus (meaning "fragmentary tooth reptile") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Mata Amarilla Formation and the Cerro Fortaleza Formation. [1] It lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Argentina. It is known from five fossilized and assorted teeth, but is diagnosed by a unique combination of characters. [1] [2]

Contents

History

Clasmodosaurus was named by Florentino Ameghino in 1898, but remained largely unknown for decades after its discovery. [3] It was originally considered a sauropod, but Friedrich von Huene suggested that it could be a coelurosaur or synonymous with Loncosaurus , which he considered to be a carnosaur. [2] Like Loncosaurus, its taxonomy remained unclear with it regarded as a theropod on the rare occasions it was mentioned. [2] However, Jaime Powell suggested that it was a dubious genus of sauropod in 1986, an identification which has been accepted since. Like diplodocoids and titanosaurs, it had narrow tooth crowns, and it is typically regarded as a titanosaur like most Late Cretaceous sauropods. [2] More recently, a revision of Ameghino's collection and new discoveries in the Cerro Fortaleza Formation find the taxon to also hail from this formation. [1]

Description

The teeth of Clasmodosaurus spatula were polygonal in cross section rather than round, an unusual trait also found in the titanosaur Bonitasaura salgadoi. [4] However, these teeth are much larger and more robust than those of Bonitasaura, with well-defined longitudinal ridges and grooves, resembling diamantinasaur teeth in some aspects. [1]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titanosauria</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nemegtosauridae</span> Extinct family of dinosaurs

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

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

Puertasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous Period. It is known from a single specimen recovered from sedimentary rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in southwestern Patagonia, Argentina, which probably is Campanian or Maastrichtian in age. The only species is Puertasaurus reuili. Described by the paleontologist Fernando Novas and colleagues in 2005, it was named in honor of Pablo Puerta and Santiago Reuil, who discovered and prepared the specimen. It consists of four well-preserved vertebrae, including one cervical, one dorsal, and two caudal vertebrae. Puertasaurus is a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltasaurinae</span> Extinct subfamily of dinosaurs

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

Patagotitan is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Cerro Barcino Formation in Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina. The genus contains a single species known from at least six young adult individuals, Patagotitan mayorum, which was first announced in 2014 and then named in 2017 by José Carballido and colleagues. Preliminary studies and press releases suggested that Patagotitan was the largest known titanosaur and land animal overall, with an estimated length of 37 m (121 ft) and an estimated weight of 69 tonnes. Later research revised the length estimate down to 31 m (102 ft) and weight estimates down to approximately 50–57 tonnes, suggesting that Patagotitan was of a similar size to, if not smaller than, its closest relatives Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus. Still, Patagotitan is one of the most-known titanosaurs, and so its interrelationships with other titanosaurs have been relatively consistent in phylogenetic analyses. This led to its use in a re-definition of the group Colossosauria by Carballido and colleagues in 2022.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Agnolín, Federico L.; Álvarez Herrera, Gerardo; Rolando, Mauro Aranciaga; Motta, Matías; Rozadilla, Sebastián; Verdiquio, Lucía; D'Angelo, Julia S.; Moyano-Paz, Damián; Varela, Augusto N.; Sterli, Juliana; Bogan, Sergio; Miner, Santiago; Moreno Rodríguez, Ana; Muñoz, Gonzalo; Isasi, Marcelo P. (2024-02-01). "Fossil vertebrates from the Cerro Fortaleza Formation (Upper Cretaceous), Santa Cruz Province, Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 154: 105735. Bibcode:2024CrRes.15405735A. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105735. ISSN   0195-6671.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Powell JE. 2003. Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs: palaeobiological, palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum 111:1–173.
  3. von Huene F. 1929. Los Saurisquios y ornithisquios del Cretaceo Argentino. Anales del Museo de la Plata.
  4. Gallina, P. A.; Apesteguía, S. (2011). "Cranial anatomy and phylogenetic position of the titanosaurian sauropod Bonitasaura salgadoi". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 56 (1): 45–60. doi: 10.4202/app.2010.0011 . hdl: 11336/192915 .