Phuwiangosaurus | |
---|---|
Femur | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | † Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | † Sauropoda |
Clade: | † Macronaria |
Family: | † Euhelopodidae |
Genus: | † Phuwiangosaurus Martin, Buffetaut and Suteethorn, 1994 |
Species: | †P. sirindhornae |
Binomial name | |
†Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae Martin, Buffetaut and Suteethorn, 1994 | |
Phuwiangosaurus (meaning "Phu Wiang lizard") is a genus of titanosaur dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian-Hauterivian) Sao Khua Formation of Thailand. The type species, P. sirindhornae, was described by Martin, Buffetaut, and Suteethorn in a 1993 press release [1] and was formally named in 1994. [2] The species was named to honor Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, who was interested in the geology and palaeontology of Thailand, while the genus was named after the Phu Wiang area, where the fossil was discovered.
Phuwiangosaurus was originally assigned to Titanosauria, but more recent studies have placed it in a more basal position within the Titanosauriformes. Phylogenetic analyses presented by D'Emic (2012), Mannion et al. (2013), and Mocho et al. (2014) resolve Phuwiangosaurus within the Euhelopodidae, alongside genera such as Euhelopus and Tangvayosaurus . [3] [4] [5] Other analyses have failed to find support for such a grouping, [6] including some finding it to be paraphyletic at the base of Somphospondyli. [4] [7]
The type specimen of Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae was discovered in Phu Wiang National Park in 1982, and excavated and prepared over the next several years. The specimen was described as representing a new genus and species, Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae, by Valérie Martin, Eric Buffetaut, and Varavudh Suteethorn in 1994. The genus name refers to its discovery in Phu Wiang, and the species name honors Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand for her interest in the paleontology of the country. [8]
Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae is known from several specimens, all of which were found in the Sao Khua Formation of Thailand. [9] [10] [11] The holotype, SM PW 1, is a partial skeleton of an adult individual, which consists of three cervical vertebrae, three dorsal vertebrae, ribs, a chevron, both scapulae, a coracoid, the left humerus, the left ulna, both ilia, ischia, pubes, and femora, and the left fibula. [12] A dorsal vertebra and a caudal vertebra excavated at the same site years later probably belong to the same specimen. [13] The most complete skeleton, SM K11, represents a half-grown individual and is about 60% complete, including a partial skull. [14] Other partial skeletons and isolated bones have been described as well. [9] [11] In 2020, Cashmore et al. calculated that, overall, 65% of the skeletal anatomy of Phuwiangosaurus sirindhornae was known. [15] Numerous bones of baby Phuwiangosaurus have been found, which is a rarity for sauropods. [16] Though specimens of a wide range of ages are known, no old individuals that had reached their maximum body size are known. [17]
Phuwiangosaurus was a mid-sized sauropod, roughly 15 to 20 metres (49 to 66 ft) long. [18] Its mass has been estimated at 17 tonnes. [19] The teeth are slender and peg-like, with the tooth height from base to tip being on average over four times greater than the width of the base of the tooth. They are slenderer than the teeth of other euhelopodids, with their proportions more closely resembling the teeth of diplodocoids and titanosaurs. [20] The neck of Phuwiangosaurus was probably composed of 13 vertebrae. The lengths of the vertebrae increase up to the middle of the neck, with the eighth cervical vertebra being the longest, and then decrease again. The cervical neural spines are bifurcated from the seventh cervical vertebra onward. [21] The sacrum was composed of five vertebrae. [22]
The Sao Khua Formation, where fossils of Phuwiangosaurus have been found, was deposited 133.6 to 132.1 million years ago, and represents a floodplain environment in a humid, subtropical climate. [23] The Sao Khua dinosaur assemblage includes the large theropods Siamotyrannus , Phuwiangvenator , Vayuraptor , and Siamosaurus , and the ornithomimosaur Kinnareemimus . [24] Other unidentified sauropods, different from Phuwiangosaurus, were present in the ecosystem. These sauropods include a Euhelopus-like taxon [25] and a possible brachiosaurid. [11] Ornithischian dinosaurs are not known from the Sao Khua Formation, although they are known from roughly contemporary environments in other parts of Asia. [26] Non-dinosaurian members of the fauna included crocodilians, turtles, fish, and sharks. [11] There is evidence that theropods fed on Phuwiangosaurus. [27]
Isanosaurus is an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from Thailand. It was originally dated to approximately 210 million years ago during the Late Triassic, which would make it one of the oldest known sauropods. Its age was later considered uncertain, and may be Early Jurassic or even as young as Late Jurassic. The only species is Isanosaurus attavipachi. Though important for the understanding of sauropod origin and early evolution, Isanosaurus is poorly known. Exact relationships to other early sauropods remain unresolved.
Siamotyrannus is a genus of theropod dinosaur from the early Cretaceous of Thailand.
Siamosaurus is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now known as China and Thailand during the Early Cretaceous period and is the first reported spinosaurid from Asia. It is confidently known only from tooth fossils; the first were found in the Sao Khua Formation, with more teeth later recovered from the younger Khok Kruat Formation. The only species Siamosaurus suteethorni, whose name honours Thai palaeontologist Varavudh Suteethorn, was formally described in 1986. In 2009, four teeth from China previously attributed to a pliosaur—under the species "Sinopliosaurus" fusuiensis—were identified as those of a spinosaurid, possibly Siamosaurus. It is yet to be determined if two partial spinosaurid skeletons from Thailand and an isolated tooth from Japan also belong to Siamosaurus.
Huabeisaurus was a genus of dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a sauropod which lived in what is present-day northern China. The type species, Huabeisaurus allocotus, was first described by Pang Qiqing and Cheng Zhengwu in 2000. Huabeisaurus is known from numerous remains found in the 1990s, which include teeth, partial limbs and vertebrae. Due to its relative completeness, Huabeisaurus represents a significant taxon for understanding sauropod evolution in Asia. Huabeisaurus comes from Kangdailiang and Houyu, Zhaojiagou Town, Tianzhen County, Shanxi province, China. The holotype was found in the unnamed upper member of the Huiquanpu Formation, which is Late Cretaceous (?Cenomanian–?Campanian) in age based on ostracods, charophytes, and fission-track dating.
Tendaguria is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Lindi Region, Tanzania.
Tangvayosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Aptian-Albian age Lower Cretaceous Gres superieurs Formation of Savannakhet Province, Laos. It was a basal somphospondylan, about 15 m long, and is known from the remains of two or three individuals.
Kinnareemimus is an extinct genus of ornithomimosaurian theropod dinosaur that was discovered in the Early Cretaceous Sao Khua Formation in what is now Thailand. The genus contains only the type species, K. khonkaenensis. The specific epithet is after Khon Kaen Province, which is in northeastern Thailand, where the remains of the animal were discovered.
Turiasauria is an unranked clade of basal sauropod dinosaurs known from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous deposits in Europe, North America, and Africa.
Brohisaurus is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian-aged) Sembar Formation of Pakistan. The type species is B. kirthari.
The Sao Khua Formation is a middle member of the Khorat Group. It consists of an alteration of pale red to yellowish-gray, fine to medium-grained sandstone and grayish-reddish brown siltstone and clay. Rare pale red to light gray conglomerates, containing carbonate pebbles, are also characteristic of this formation. This geological formation in Thailand dates to the Early Cretaceous age, specifically the Valanginian through Hauterivian stages.
Mamenchisauridae is a family of sauropod dinosaurs belonging to Eusauropoda known from the Jurassic and Early Cretaceous of Asia and Africa. Some members of the group reached gigantic sizes, amongst the largest of all sauropods.
Ruyangosaurus is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur recovered from the Early Cretaceous Haoling Formation of China. The type species is R. giganteus, described in 2009 by Lü Junchang et al.
Phu Wiang Dinosaur Museum is a geological museum mainly exhibiting fossils. It is under the administration of the Department of Mineral Resources, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, of the Royal Thai Government, and situated in the Khok Sanambin public area in Tambon Nai Muang, Wiang Kao district, Khon Kaen province in the northeastern region of Thailand. The museum was constructed with a budget from the Tourism Authority of Thailand under the supervision of the Department of Mineral Resources and comprises an area of 40 acres (160,000 m2). It has been open to the public since 2009.
The Early Cretaceous Phu Kradung Formation is the lowest member of the Mesozoic Khorat Group which outcrops on the Khorat Plateau in Isan, Thailand. This geological formation consists of micaceous, brown to reddish-brown siltstone beds with minor brown and grey shale and sandstone beds. Occasional lime-noduled conglomerate occurs.
The Khok Kruat Formation is a rock formation found in northeastern Thailand. It is the uppermost formation of the Khorat Group. It is dated to the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous period, and is notable for its fossils of dinosaurs. It is equivalent to the Gres superieurs Formation of Laos. The group is a fluvial formation consisting primarily of red siltstones and sandstones.
Ichthyovenator is a genus of spinosaurid dinosaur that lived in what is now Laos, sometime between 125 and 113 million years ago, during the Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous period. It is known from fossils collected from the Grès supérieurs Formation of the Savannakhet Basin, the first of which were found in 2010, consisting of a partial skeleton without the skull or limbs. This specimen became the holotype of the new genus and species Ichthyovenator laosensis, and was described by palaeontologist Ronan Allain and colleagues in 2012. The generic name, meaning "fish hunter", refers to its assumed piscivorous lifestyle, while the specific name alludes to the country of Laos. In 2014, it was announced that more remains from the dig site had been recovered; these fossils included teeth, more vertebrae (backbones) and a pubic bone from the same individual.
Varavudh Suteethorn, or Warawut Suteethorn is a Thai palaeontologist and geologist. He is the current director of the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre, Mahasarakham University. He is best known for his work on vertebrate paleontology in northeastern Thailand, having contributed to the discovery of many fossil taxa and dig sites in the Khorat Plateau, as a part of a long-standing collaboration between Thai and French scientists.
Phuwiangvenator is an extinct genus of megaraptoran theropod that lived during the Early Cretaceous period in what is now Thailand. It contains only the type species, P. yaemniyomi. The generic name of Phuwiangvenator comes from the Phu Wiang mountains, where the holotype was discovered, and the Latin word "venator" meaning hunter. The specific name, "yaemniyomi", is in honor of Sudham Yaemniyom, who was a historical paleontologist from Thailand and the first person to discover fossils there.
Paleontology began as a subject of academic interest in Thailand in the early twentieth century, mainly conducted by foreign researchers working with the Royal Department of Mines and Geology, the precursor of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR). Most early paleontological research was the by-product of mineral exploration for the country's developing mining industry.
Minimocursor is a genus of basal neornithischian dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Phu Kradung Formation of Thailand. The type species is Minimocursor phunoiensis.