Galvesaurus

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Galvesaurus
Temporal range: Tithonian, 150–146  Ma
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Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade:† Sauropodomorpha
Clade:† Sauropoda
Clade:† Macronaria
Family:† Brachiosauridae
Genus:† Galvesaurus
Barco et al., 2005
Species:
†G. herreroi
Binomial name
†Galvesaurus herreroi
Barco et al., 2005
Synonyms [1]
  • Galveosaurus herreroiSánchez Hernández, 2005

Galvesaurus, or Galveosaurus, (meaning "Galve lizard") is a genus of brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period. Fossils of the only known species, G. herreroi, were found in Galve, Spain, hence its generic name, "Galve lizard". The specific name G. herreroi honours the discoverer, José María Herrero. Some researchers suggest that the taxon might represent a junior synonym of Lusotitan .

Contents

Phylogeny

While Royo-Torres et al. (2006) grouped Galvesaurus within Turiasauria alongside Losillasaurus and Turiasaurus , Barco & Canudo (2012) noted that Galvesaurus lacks turiasaurian synapomorphies and found that it was actually a macronarian. [1] A 2017 study suggested that it may represent a junior synonym of Lusotitan . [2] New material described in 2019 reveals Galvesaurus to be a brachiosaurid, specifically as a sister taxon of Lusotitan. [3] A 2024 phylogenetic analysis recovered it as a sister taxon of Titanosauriformes outside Brachiosauridae. [4]

History

During the 1980s, a fossil site known as Cuesta Lonsal, in the Kimmeridgian to Tithonian Villar del Arzobispo Formation near Galve (Teruel), Spain, was excavated by local amateur fossil hunter José María Herrero after he found the fossilized remains of a sauropod dinosaur. Zaragoza University and the Government of Aragón commissioned members of a scientific research team known as "Aragosaurus" to investigate the site in 1987. They determined that the site would be an important one for paleontological research, and after obtaining the necessary permits, they began their own dig there in 1993. Between 1993 and 2002, they obtained more than 50 bones associated with a new sauropod species. Also during that time, various team members published scientific reports on the bones they were recovering and on the site itself, though they refrained from publishing a formal name for the new dinosaur due to the fact the fossils were still undergoing preparation. As the bones were prepared and studied, the team transferred them to the small Spanish Paleontological Museum of Galve for display. [5]

Naming controversy

The description of the sauropod from Galve was not as straightforward as is typical for most dinosaurs. Problems arose when the same specimen, housed at the Museo Paleontológico de Galve, was studied and published almost simultaneously by two groups of scientists, both of whom were supposedly unaware the other was studying exactly the same bones, the holotype material.

The name Galveosaurus herreroi, was first published in a paper by Bárbara Sánchez Hernandez on August 11, 2005, based on a partial skeleton housed in the Spanish Paleontological Museum of Galve. [6] At the same time, several members of the Aragosaurus team; Jose Luis Barco, Jose Ignacio Canudo, Gloria Cuenca Bescós and Jose Ignacio Ruíz Omeñaca, had been preparing a paper on the new sauropod, including the same specimen, elements of which had been in preparation since 1993. [5] [7] Barco et al. published their own description of the sauropod, which they named Galvesaurus herreroi (note the lack of the letter "o"), in the journal Naturaleza Aragonesa . The date given in the journal, labelled as the July–December 2005 issue, was July 1st, 2005. If that date was correct, the valid name for this dinosaur would be Galvesaurus herreroi, and attributed to Barco et al. rather than to Sánchez Hernández. However, according to Sánchez Hernández, the date the authors provided is contradicted by the date of publication listed for the journal as a whole (July–December, 2005). Sánchez Hernández pointed to ICZN article 21.6 and 23, and claimed the publication date of Barco et al. (2005) is technically considered to be December 31, 2005, the last date of the given range. Therefore, according to Sánchez Hernández, Galveosaurus herreroi is the valid name for this species. [8] The Aragosaurus team disputed this, saying that the date given at the end of their paper, July 1, 2005, being within the given July–December range of the journal, was not contradictory and therefore was not sufficient to invoke the ICZN rules. Sánchez Hernández argued that the actual date the journal was published was December 18, 2005, and used the fact that her name Galveosaurus was already in widespread use online as evidence that her paper was first to publication. [8]

In addition to the controversy over the priority of the name itself, the Aragosaurus team raised concerns about the professional ethics involved in Sánchez Hernández's publication. According to Barco and Canudo, "The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature provides for a rather similar case in its ethical code, which stipulates that a researcher should not publish a taxon if he or she suspects that there is someone else already working on defining it (where the two of them are studying different specimens). In no case does the Commission even contemplate the possibility that a researcher might define a taxon on the basis of the same material, i.e. of the same specimen, as is already being studied by other investigators, as has been the case with Galvesaurus. The episode will doubtless come to be considered an example of bad practice in the development of research in Palaeontology, since a lack of awareness cannot be invoked." [1] The Aragosaurus team have alleged that Sánchez Hernández must have known other scientists were currently working on the Galve sauropod specimen at the time she published her paper, and note that she even cited one of their previous research papers on the fossil material. [1] Furthermore, Canudo has claimed that Sánchez Hernández did not have professional access to the fossils, but simply went to the museum and took photos of the bones on display for use in her paper. [5] The Aragosaurus team cited the name itself as evidence for this claim. The museum staff, they alleged, had known for a long time about the work being done on the specimen and the name the team intended to use. According to Barco and Canudo, the museum added a plaque to the fossil display with their intended name but included an inadvertent misspelling, with the extra "o". Barco and Canudo alleged that Sánchez Hernández must have copied the plaque to obtain such a similar name to the one they published, which explains the slightly variant spelling. [1] Canudo also stated that the wood frame of the display cabinet is visible in one of the photos in Sánchez Hernández's paper, demonstrating that she did not have first-hand access to the specimen and instead relied on the public museum display. [5]

Related Research Articles

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

The Brachiosauridae are a family or clade of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs. Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled them to access the leaves of tall trees that other sauropods would have been unable to reach. In addition, they possessed thick spoon-shaped teeth which helped them to consume tough plants more efficiently than other sauropods. They have also been characterized by a few unique traits or synapomorphies; dorsal vertebrae with 'rod-like' transverse processes and an ischium with an abbreviated pubic peduncle.

Agustinia is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of South America. The genus contains a single species, A. ligabuei, known from a single specimen that was recovered from the Lohan Cura Formation of Neuquén Province in Argentina. It lived about 116–108 million years ago, in the Aptian–Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous Period.

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

Aragosaurus was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous period of Galve, province of Teruel, in the autonomous territory of Aragón, Spain. It was deposited in the Villar del Arzobispo Formation.

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

Sonorasaurus is a genus of brachiosaurid dinosaur from the Early to Late Cretaceous. It was a herbivorous sauropod whose fossils have been found in southern Arizona in the United States. Its name, which means "Sonora lizard", comes from the Sonora River that flows in the Sonoran Desert where its fossils were first found. The type species is S. thompsoni, described by Ratkevich in 1998.

<i>Dinheirosaurus</i> Genus of reptiles (fossil)

Dinheirosaurus is a genus of diplodocid sauropod dinosaur that is known from fossils uncovered in modern-day Portugal. It may represent a species of Supersaurus. The only species is Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis, first described by José Bonaparte and Octávio Mateus in 1999 for vertebrae and some other material from the Lourinhã Formation. Although the precise age of the formation is not known, it can be dated around the early Tithonian of the Late Jurassic.

<i>Lusotitan</i> Sauropod dinosaur genus from the late Jurassic Period

Lusotitan is a genus of herbivorous brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Portugal and possibly Spain.

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

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

Turiasauria is an unranked clade of basal sauropod dinosaurs known from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous deposits in Europe, North America, and Africa.

Galve is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 145 inhabitants. There is an important paleontological site.

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Tastavinsaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur belonging to the Titanosauriformes. It is based on a partial skeleton from the Early Cretaceous Xert Formation of Spain. The type species is Tastavinsaurus sanzi, named in honor of the Rio Tastavins in Spain and Spanish paleontologist José Luis Sanz. Tastavinsaurus sanzi is known from two specimens, one from the Xert Formation and one from the Forcall Formation. Tastavinsaurus was originally described as a somphospondylan, but it may be a brachiosaurid. The clade Laurasiformes was coined for Tastavinsaurus and its close relatives, which may include Cedarosaurus, Soriatitan, and Venenosaurus.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villar del Arzobispo Formation</span>

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

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Barco, J.I.; Canudo, J.I. (2012). "On the phylogenetic position of the sauropod Galvesaurus, and other reflections". V Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su entorno.
  2. ↑ Mocho, P.; Royo-Torres, R.; Ortega, F. (2017). "New data of the Portuguese brachiosaurid Lusotitan atalaiensis (Sobral Formation, Upper Jurassic)". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. 29 (6): 789–817. Bibcode:2017HBio...29..789M. doi:10.1080/08912963.2016.1247447. S2CID   89037768.
  3. ↑ Pérez-Pueyo, M.; Moreno-Azanza, M.; Barco, J.L.; Canudo, J.I. (2019). "New contributions to the phylogenetic position of the sauropod Galvesaurus herreroi from the late Kimmeridgian-early Tithonian (Jurassic) of Teruel (Spain)" (PDF). Boletín Geológico y Minero. 130 (3): 375–392. doi: 10.21701/bolgeomin.130.3.001 .
  4. ↑ Mocho, Pedro; Escaso, Fernando; Gasulla, José M; Galobart, Àngel; Poza, Begoña; Santos-Cubedo, Andrés; Sanz, José L; Ortega, Francisco (2024-05-02). "New sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Morella (Spain) provides new insights on the evolutionary history of Iberian somphospondylan titanosauriforms". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 201 (1): 214–268. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad124. ISSN   0024-4082.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Canudo, J.I. (2006). "Galvesaurus-Galveosaurus" Archived 2017-02-07 at the Wayback Machine . Message to the Dinosaur Mailing List, 29 May 2006. Accessed online 27 Jul 2016, http://dml.cmnh.org/2006May/msg00355.html Archived 2017-02-07 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ Sánchez-Hernández, B. (2005). "Galveosaurus herreroi, a new sauropod dinosaur from Villar del Arzobispo Formation (Tithonian-Berriasian) of Spain". Zootaxa. 1034: 1–20. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1034.1.1.
  7. ↑ Barco, J.I.; Canudo, J.I.; Cuenca-Bescós, G.; Ruíz-Omeñaca, J.I. (2005). "Un nuevo dinosaurio saurópodo, Galvesaurus herreroi gen. nov., sp. nov., del tránsito Jurásico-Cretácico en Galve (Teruel, NE de España)" (PDF). Naturaleza Aragonesa. 15: 4–17.
  8. 1 2 Sánchez-Hernández, B. (2006). "The new sauropod from Spain: Galveosaurus or Galvesaurus?" (PDF). Zootaxa. 1201: 63–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1201.1.3.
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