Eutitanosauria

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Eutitanosaurs
Temporal range: Cretaceous, Aptian–Maastrichtian
FMNH Patagotitan.jpg
Skeleton of Patagotitan
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
Clade: Eutitanosauria
Sanz et al., 1999 [1]
Subgroups [2]

Eutitanosauria is a clade of titanosaurs, encompassing the more derived members of the group and characterized by the absence of the hyposphene-hypantrum articulation and possibly the presence of osteoderms. The group was first named by Sanz and colleagues in 1999, who used it to unite the group of Argyrosaurus , Lirainosaurus , Saltasaurus and the Peiropolis titanosaur. [1] However, this definition was not used as it made the group equivalent to Saltasauridae, so Saldago redefined it in 2003 to be all titanosaurs closer to Saltasaurus than Epachthosaurus . This definition created Eutitanosauria as the sister group to Epachthosaurinae (Epachthosaurus but not Saltasaurus), but was problematic due to the variable nature of Epachthosaurus. Eutitanosauria was often broadly similar to Lithostrotia, and has often been unused or unlabelled on phylogenies. Sometimes Epachthosaurus would be more primitive than Malawisaurus, making Eutitanosauria more encompassing than Lithostrotia, or Epachthosaurus could nest close to Colossosauria and limit Eutitanosauria to a smaller group of saltasauroids. Because of the flexible nature of Epachthosaurus in basal titanosaur phylogeny, Carballido and colleagues redefined the group in 2022 to include the smallest clade of both Patagotitan , a colossosaur, and Saltasaurus, creating a node-stem clade with Colossosauria and Saltasauroidea, presenting the informal cladogram of stable titanosaur clades below. [2]

Titanosauria

Related Research Articles

<i>Argentinosaurus</i> Late Cretaceous giant sauropod dinosaur genus

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 metres (98–115 ft) long and weighing 65–80 tonnes. It was a member of Titanosauria, the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous. It is widely regarded by many paleontologists as the biggest dinosaur ever, and perhaps lengthwise the longest animal ever, though both claims have no concrete evidence yet.

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

Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as Patagotitan—estimated at 37 m (121 ft) long with a weight of 69 tonnes —and the comparably-sized Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus from the same region.

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

Nemegtosauridae is a family of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs based on their diplodocid-like skulls. Only three species are known: Nemegtosaurus, Quaesitosaurus and possibly Tapuiasaurus, each from the Cretaceous.

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

Ampelosaurus is a titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now France. Its type species is A. atacis, named by Le Loeuff in 1995. Its remains were found in a level dating from 71.5 million years ago representing the early Maastrichtian.

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

Pellegrinisaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period. The holotype was found in the Allen Formation, Argentina.

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

Lithostrotia is a clade of derived titanosaur sauropods that lived during the Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous. The group was defined by Upchurch et al. in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of Malawisaurus and Saltasaurus and all the descendants of that ancestor. Lithostrotia is derived from the Ancient Greek lithostros, meaning "inlaid with stones", referring to the fact that many known lithostrotians are preserved with osteoderms. However, osteoderms are not a distinguishing feature of the group, as the two noted by Unchurch et al. include caudal vertebrae with strongly concave front faces (procoely), although the farthest vertebrae are not procoelous.

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

Diamantinasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod from Australia that lived during the early Late Cretaceous, about 94 million years ago. The type species of the genus is D. matildae, first described and named in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues based on fossil finds in the Winton Formation. Meaning "Diamantina lizard", the name is derived from the location of the nearby Diamantina River and the Greek word sauros, "lizard". The specific epithet is from the Australian song Waltzing Matilda, also the locality of the holotype and paratype. The known skeleton includes most of the forelimb, shoulder girdle, pelvis, hindlimb and ribs of the holotype, and one shoulder bone, a radius and some vertebrae of the paratype.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lognkosauria</span> Clade of titanosaurian sauropods

Lognkosauria is a clade of giant long-necked sauropod dinosaurs within the clade Titanosauria. It includes some of the largest and heaviest dinosaurs known. They lived in South America and likely Asia during the Late Cretaceous period.

Narambuenatitan is a genus of lithostrotian titanosaur sauropod from late Cretaceous deposits of northern Patagonia of Argentina. Narambuenatitan is known from the holotype MAU-Pv-N-425, an incomplete skeleton. It was collected in 2005 and 2006 from the Anacleto Formation in northern Patagonia. It was first named by Leonardo S. Filippi, Rodolfo A. García and Alberto C. Garrido in 2011 and the type species Narambuenatitan palomoi. The generic name refers to Puesto Narambuena. The specific name honours the discoverer, Salvador Palomo.

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

Aeolosaurini is an extinct clade of titanosaurian dinosaurs known from the Cretaceous period of Argentina and Brazil. Rodrigo M. Santucci and Antonio C. de Arruda-Campos (2011) in their cladistic analysis found Aeolosaurus, Gondwanatitan, Maxakalisaurus, Panamericansaurus and Rinconsaurus to be aeolosaurids.

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

Saltasaurinae is a subfamily of titanosaurian sauropods known from the late Cretaceous period of South America, India and Madagascar.

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.

<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.

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

Notocolossus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from late Cretaceous strata of Mendoza Province, Argentina.

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

Rinconsauria is an extinct clade of giant titanosaurian sauropods known from the late Cretaceous period of Argentina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltasaurini</span> Extinct tribe of reptiles

Saltasaurini is a tribe of titanosaur sauropods known from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. The clade was named in 2007 by Leonardo Salgado and José Bonaparte as the "least inclusive clade comprising Neuquensaurus and Saltasaurus", which is equivalent to the use of Saltasaurinae in Salgado et al. (1997). Found only in the Campanian to Maastrichtian sediments of the Neuquén Basin, Salgado & Bonaparte (2007) decided a more restrictive clade was needed because of the expansion of Saltasaurinae as defined to include far more taxa than it originally encompassed. Saltasaurini includes the original core of Saltasaurinae: Neuquensaurus, Saltasaurus, Rocasaurus and Bonatitan, although some studies exclude Bonatitan from the clade.

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

Colossosauria is a clade of titanosaur sauropods from the latest Early Cretaceous through the Late Cretaceous of South America. The group was originally named by Bernardo González-Riga et al. in 2019 and defined as the "most inclusive clade containing Mendozasaurus neguyelap but not Saltasaurus loricatus or Epachthosaurus sciuttoi". The clade contains different taxa depending on the phylogenetic analysis used, in the defining paper the only subgroups were Rinconsauria and Lognkosauria, but alternate phylogenies published previously had also included various similar titanosaurs such as Aeolosaurus, Bonitasaura, Drusilasaura, Overosaurus and Quetecsaurus. The phylogenetic analysis of González-Riga et al. (2019) placed Colossosauria as sister taxa to Epachthosaurus, Pitekunsaurus and a larger clade including Saltasauridae.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamantinasauria</span> Clade of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaurs

Diamantinasauria is an extinct clade of somphospondylan titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs with close affinities to the Titanosauria, known from the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) of South America and Australia. It was named by Poropat and colleagues in 2021, and contains four genera: Australotitan, Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus from the Winton Formation of Queensland, as well as Sarmientosaurus from the Bajo Barreal Formation of Patagonia. The existence of the clade indicates connectivity between Australia and South America via Antarctica during the Cretaceous period.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltasauroidea</span> Superfamily of dinosaurs

Saltasauroidea is a superfamily of titanosaurs named by França and colleagues in 2016 based on their phylogenetic results, for a clade uniting Aeolosaurini and Saltasauridae, as well as the intermediate genera Baurutitan, Diamantinasaurus and Isisaurus. The group was not defined or discussed in the text, but was supported by Carballido and colleagues in 2022 as a useful designation for subdividing titanosaurs. As there was no discussion about the intentions for the clade, Carballido gave it the definition of all taxa closer to Saltasaurus than Patagotitan, encompassing half of Eutitanosauria as the sister taxon to the inversely defined Colossosauria. Carballido et al. placed Nemegtosauridae and Saltasauridae within the group, though they had Aeolosaurini within Colossosauria. The informal cladogram of titanosaur relationships they proposed is shown below.

Menucocelsior is a genus of medium-sized titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Allen Formation of Argentina. The type and only species is Menucocelsior arriagadai.

References

  1. 1 2 Sanz, J.L.; Powell, J.E.; Le Loeuff, J.; Martinez, R.; Pereda-Suberbiola, X. (1999). "Sauropod remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Laño (Northcentral Spain). Titanosaur phylogenetic relationships". Estudios del Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Alava. 14 (1): 235–255.
  2. 1 2 Carballido, J.L.; Otero, A.; Mannion, P.D.; Salgado, L.; Moreno, A.P. (2022). "Titanosauria: A Critical Reappraisal of Its Systematics and the Relevance of the South American Record". In Otero, A.; Carballido, J.L.; Pol, D. (eds.). South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Record, Diversity and Evolution. Springer. pp. 269–298. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-95959-3. ISBN   978-3-030-95958-6. ISSN   2197-9596.
  3. Filippi, Leonardo S.; Juárez Valieri, Rubén D.; Gallina, Pablo A.; Méndez, Ariel H.; Gianechini, Federico A.; Garrido, Alberto C. (2023). "A rebbachisaurid-mimicking titanosaur and evidence of a Late Cretaceous faunal disturbance event in South-West Gondwana". Cretaceous Research. 154. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105754. ISSN   0195-6671.
  4. Rolando, M.A.; Garcia Marsà, J.A.; Agnolín, F.L.; Motta, M.J.; Rodazilla, S.; Novas, F.E. (2022). "The sauropod record of Salitral Ojo del Agua: An Upper Cretaceous (Allen Formation) fossiliferous locality from northern Patagonia, Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 129: 105029. Bibcode:2022CrRes.12905029R. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.105029.