Oceanotitan

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Oceanotitan
Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
149  Ma
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Oceanotitan dantasi Skeletal.png
Skeletal reconstruction with known material in white
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: Camarasauromorpha
Clade: Titanosauriformes
Genus: Oceanotitan
Mocho, Moyo-Torres & Ortega, 2019
Species:
O. dantasi
Binomial name
Oceanotitan dantasi
Mocho, Moyo-Torres & Ortega, 2019

Oceanotitan (meaning "ocean giant") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known from the Upper Jurassic (latest Kimmeridgian stage, about 149 million years ago) 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. [1]

Contents

Discovery and naming

The holotype and only specimen of Oceanotitan, SHN 181, is stored at the Sociedade de História Natural, in Torres Vedras, Portugal. It was discovered at the coastal cliffs of Praia de Valmitão in Lourinhã, by a private collector who donated his collection to the municipality of Torres Vedras. The rocks that it was found in correspond to the Praia da Amoreira-Porto Novo Member of the Lourinha Formation, dating to the latest Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic, about 149 Ma. Its type locality is just a few meters north of where the holotype of Lusovenator was collected. [1] [2]

Oceanotitan was initially described in a 2016 doctoral thesis [3] and, in 2017, was reported as an indeterminate macronarian while still in preparation. [4] It was formally described in 2019 by Pedro Mocho, the author of the thesis, and colleagues. The generic name Oceanotitan ("ocean giant") derives its name from oceanus, the Latin word for ocean, since it was found at the base of a cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean, and the giant Titans from Greek mythology. The specific name dantasi honors the Portuguese paleontologist Pedro Dantas, who was a major contributor to Portuguese vertebrate paleontology towards the end of the 20th century. [1]

Description

Speculative reconstruction of O. dantasi in its habitat Oceanotitan dantasi.jpg
Speculative reconstruction of O. dantasi in its habitat

Oceanotitan possesses unique features that separate it from all other macronarians, which are: a sagittal groove on the top of the first caudal vertebral neural spines; lateral depressions on the edges of the anterior and middle caudal vertebral neural spines while being dorsally connected in the posterior-most ones; and an elliptical concavity on the bottom of the scapular blade, near the acromion process. [1]

Classification

In its initial description, Oceanotitan was considered a definite titanosauriform and a possible somphospondylan, the latter placement supported by one of the two phylogenetic analyses conducted in the paper. [1] In the 2024 description of the somphospondylan Garumbatitan, Oceanotitan was included in the phylogenetic analysis. A modified cladogram of the analysis is shown below. [5]

Macronaria

Paleoecology

The Praia da Amoreira-Porto Novo Member of the Lourinha Formation, from where Oceanotitan is known, was deposited in a river system, but not a marine environment, based on the species of palynomorph found there. [6] Its flora and fauna are similar to the Morrison Formation in the United States, and the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. [7] Oceanotitan lived alongside species of the predatory theropods Ceratosaurus , Compsognathus, Lourinhanosaurus , Torvosaurus, and an indeterminate species of abelisaurid, the sauropods Lourinhasaurus , Lusotitan, Zby and an indeterminate species of diplodocid, the stegosaur Miragaia, and the ornithopod Hypsilophodon. [6]

Related Research Articles

<i>Camarasaurus</i> Camarasaurid sauropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic Period

Camarasaurus was a genus of quadrupedal, herbivorous dinosaurs and is the most common North American sauropod fossil. Its fossil remains have been found in the Morrison Formation, dating to the Late Jurassic epoch, between 155 and 145 million years ago.

<i>Torvosaurus</i> Megalosaurid theropod dinosaur genus from Late Jurassic Period

Torvosaurus is a genus of large megalosaurine theropod dinosaur that lived approximately 165 to 148 million years ago during the Callovian to Tithonian ages of the late Middle and Late Jurassic period in what is now Colorado, Portugal, Germany, and possibly England, Spain, Tanzania, and Uruguay. It contains two currently recognized species, Torvosaurus tanneri and Torvosaurus gurneyi, plus a third unnamed species from Germany.

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

Bothriospondylus is a dubious genus of neosauropod sauropod dinosaur. It lived during the Late Jurassic in England, and the type and only species is B. suffossus.

Dracopelta is a monospecific genus of ankylosaur dinosaur from Portugal that lived during the Late Jurassic in what is now the Lourinhã Formation. The type and only species is Dracopelta zbyszewskii, which is represented by a partial skeleton including unpublished material.

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

Lourinhasaurus is an extinct genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur genus dating from Late Jurassic strata of Estremadura, Portugal. The genus is monotypic, containing one species, Lourinhasaurus alenquerensis. The type specimen for this species was discovered near the town of Alenquer, near an abandoned mill. The specimen is housed at the Geological Museum of Lisbon.

Galvesaurus, or Galveosaurus, 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.

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

Camarasauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs. Among sauropods, camarasaurids are small to medium-sized, with relatively short necks. They are visually identifiable by a short skull with large nares, and broad, spatulate teeth filling a thick jaw. Based on cervical vertebrae and cervical rib biomechanics, camarasaurids most likely moved their necks in a vertical, rather than horizontal, sweeping motion, in contrast to most diplodocids.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lourinhã Formation</span> Late Jurassic geological formation in Portugal

The Lourinhã Formation is a geological formation in western Portugal, outstanding for its abundant fossilized fauna and flora, including dinosaur bones, dinosaur eggs and nests, and fossil tracks, to name but some examples.
At its upper limit, the formation includes some Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) strata, but it mostly consists of Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian) rocks. The stratigraphy of the formation is generally complex and controversial, with the classification and grouping of its lithostratigraphic units varying between different stratigraphers.
The fossil biota present there is very similar to that of the Morrison Formation in the United States and, to a lesser extent, the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. There are also similarities to the Villar del Arzobispo Formation in Spain, and the neardy Alcobaça Formation.
The formation is named after the municipality of Lourinhã, the geographic area it mostly occupies.

The Alcobaça Formation, previously known as the Guimarota Formation and also known as the Consolação Unit, is a geological formation in Portugal. It dates back to the Kimmeridgian stage of the Late Jurassic. It is an important source of information on the diversity of Late Jurassic mammals. Many of the fossils were collected from the now disused and flooded Camadas de Guimarota coal mine.

The Arcillas de Morella Formation is a geological formation in Spain whose strata date back to the Barremian stage of the Early Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

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

The Villar del Arzobispo Formation is a Late Jurassic to possibly Early Cretaceous geologic formation in eastern Spain. It is equivalent in age to the Lourinhã Formation of Portugal. It was originally thought to date from the Late Tithonian-Middle Berriasian, but more recent work suggests a Kimmeridigan-Late Tithonian, possibly dating to the Early Berriasian in some areas. The Villar del Arzobispo Formation's age in the area of Riodeva in Spain has been dated based on stratigraphic correlations as middle-upper Tithonian, approximately 145-141 million years old. In the area of Galve, the formation potentially dates into the earliest Cretaceous.

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

Arkharavia is a dubious genus of somphospondylan sauropod, but at least some of the remains probably belong to a hadrosaurid. 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.

<i>Veterupristisaurus</i> Genus of carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic period

Veterupristisaurus is an extinct genus of carcharodontosaurid theropod dinosaur known from the Jurassic of Tendaguru, Lindi Region of southeastern Tanzania.

Eousdryosaurus is a genus of basal iguanodontian dinosaur known from a partial skeleton discovered in Upper Jurassic rocks in western Portugal. The type, and only species, is Eousdryosaurus nanohallucis, named and described in 2014.

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

Lusovenator is a genus of carcharodontosaurian theropod dinosaur, from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Praia de Amoreira Porto-Novo Member and the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous (Tithonian-Berriasian) Assenta Member of the Lourinhã Formation in present-day Portugal. It includes one species, Lusovenator santosi.

<i>Narindasaurus</i> Genus of sauropod dinosaur (fossil)

Narindasaurus is a genus of turiasaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic Isalo III Formation of Madagascar. The type species, N. thevenini was formally described by Royo-Torres et al. in 2020. The holotype, which consists of one specimen, is currently stored at the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle and has been since 1906 or 1907.

<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 4 5 Mocho, Pedro; Royo-Torres, Rafael; Ortega, Francisco (2019). "A new macronarian sauropod from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. e1578782 (1): e1578782. Bibcode:2019JVPal..39E8782M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2019.1578782.
  2. Malafaia, Elisabete; Mocho, Pedro; Escaso, Fernando; Ortega, Francisco (2020-01-02). "A new carcharodontosaurian theropod from the Lusitanian Basin: evidence of allosauroid sympatry in the European Late Jurassic". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40 (1): e1768106. Bibcode:2020JVPal..40E8106M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1768106. ISSN   0272-4634.
  3. Lopes, Mocho (2016-02-15). Evolutionary History of Upper Jurassic Sauropods from the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal) (Doctoral thesis). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
  4. Mocho, P; Royo-Torres, R; Escaso, F; Malafaia, E; de Miguel Chaves, C; Narváez, I; Pérez-García, A; Pimentel, N; Silva, Bc; Ortega, F (2017). "Upper Jurassic sauropod record in the Lusitanian Basin (Portugal): Geographical and lithostratigraphical distribution". Palaeontologia Electronica. doi:10.26879/662. ISSN   1094-8074.
  5. 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.
  6. 1 2 Mateus, O.; Dinis, J.; Cunha, P. P. (2017-09-30). "The Lourinhã Formation: the Upper Jurassic to lower most Cretaceous of the Lusitanian Basin, Portugal – landscapes where dinosaurs walked" (PDF). Ciências da Terra - Earth Sciences Journal. 19 (1): 75–97. doi:10.21695/cterra/esj.v19i1.355. ISSN   0254-055X.
  7. Mateus, O. (2006). "Late Jurassic dinosaurs from the Morrison Formation (USA), the Lourinha and Alcobaça formations (Portugal), and the Tendaguru Beds (Tanzania): a comparison". In Foster, J.; Lucas, S.G. (eds.). Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36. Albuquerque, New Mexico: New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science.