Rhabdodon

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Rhabdodon
Temporal range: Maastrichtian
~70–66  Ma
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Rhabdodon priscus mount.jpg
Reconstructed R. priscus skeleton
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Ornithischia
Clade: Ornithopoda
Family: Rhabdodontidae
Genus: Rhabdodon
Matheron, 1869
Species
  • R. priscusMatheron, 1869
  • R. septimanicus Buffetaut & Le Loeuff, 1991

Rhabdodon (meaning "fluted tooth") is a genus of ornithopod dinosaur that lived in Europe approximately 70-66 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous. It is similar in build to a very robust "hypsilophodont" (non-iguanodont ornithopod), though all modern phylogenetic analyses find this to be an unnatural grouping, and Rhabdodon to be a basal member of Iguanodontia. It was large amongst its relatives, measuring 4 m (13 ft) long and weighing 250 kg (550 lb), with some specimens possibly reaching up to 6 m (20 ft) long. [1]

Contents

Discovery

Wall mounted fossils of R. priscus on the silhouette of a Tenontosaurus Rhabdodon priscus.JPG
Wall mounted fossils of R. priscus on the silhouette of a Tenontosaurus

Two species of Rhabdodon are known, Rhabdodon priscus, the type species, and R. septimanicus (Buffetaut and Le Loeuff, 1991). Rhabdodon remains are currently known from southern France, although fragmentary remains from eastern Spain have been assigned to the genus. [2] Rhabdodon was large compared to its nearest relatives, and indeed one recent paper ( Ősi et al. (2012)) determined it is larger than the basal rhabdodontid status; from this they suggested that it actually experienced gigantism on the "mainland"; and not insular dwarfism as previous suggested. [3]

Paleobiology

Life reconstruction of Rhabdodon priscus Rhabdodon by Tom Parker.png
Life reconstruction of Rhabdodon priscus

Rhabdodon was probably an important herbivore in Cretaceous Europe.[ citation needed ]Rhabdodon's predators include the abelisaurid Arcovenator , and young may have been prey for Pyroraptor .[ citation needed ]

Paleoecology

Rhabdodon priscus is known from a specimen from the Marnes Rouges Inférieures Formation. The material of Rhabdodon priscus includes a dentary and many other postcranial remains. More specifically, it is known from the Bellevue layer, which has produced many vertebrate fossils. Even though it produced many vertebrates, the formation only has a scarce record of plants and invertebrates. The non-dinosaurian vertebrates consist of Lepisosteus , an indeterminate turtle, and a crocodile. Dinosaurian fauna from the Marnes Rouges Inférieures Formation include Ampelosaurus , an animal classified as Dromaeosauridae indet., and an indeterminate ankylosaur. [4] [5] The bird Gargantuavis philoinos , and dinosaur eggs have also been recovered. [5]

R. septimanicus fossil Rhabdodon septimanicus.JPG
R. septimanicus fossil

Another formation Rhabdodon priscus is known from is Gres de Saint-Chinian. Along with both Rhabdodon priscus, Rhabdodon septimanicus, dinosaur eggs, Nodosauridae indet. (previously known as Rhodanosaurus lugdunensis ), Theropoda indet., Variraptor mechinorum , Avialae indet., Enantiornithes indet., and a possible Abelisauridae indet. are known from this formation. [5]

Rhabdodon priscus is one of few vertebrates known from the Gres de Labarre Formation. The only other fossils from the formation belong to Ampelosaurus atacis and a Nodosauridae indet. [5]

Villalba de la Sierra Formation

Pelvis and vertebrae Rhabdodon pelvis and vertebrae.JPG
Pelvis and vertebrae

Rhabdodon sp. is from the latest Cretaceous aged Lo Hueco region in the Villalba de la Sierra Formation. A study shows that the area around Lo Hueco dates to the late Campanian and early Maastrichtian, although a more recent study revised the later date to the latest Maastrichtian. [6] The study showed that Lo Hueco was near the coast of the Tethys Sea, [6] a large seaway through southern Europe and northern Africa. The area directly on the coast was shown to be a brackish-freshwater aquatic environment, with a muddy flood-plain beside it. Lo Hueco was found to be inside the flood-plain. The flood plain was found to have distributary channels of sand and terrigenous material. [7]

Many dinosaurs have been found in the Villalba de la Sierra Formation, including Rhabdodon sp. They consist of possible Lirainosaurus remains, Ampelosaurus atacis, unknown basal euornithopods, probable ankylosaurians, one undetermined dromaeosaurine, and one unknown velociraptorine. The plants known from the formation are represented by carbonized branches and leaves. Invertebrates are solely known from bivalves and gastropods. Fishes from the formation include lepisosteids, and unidentified actinopterygians and teleosteans. Turtle fossils are very common, but only two different groups have been identified, the bothremydids Polysternon and Rosasia , along with an undetermined Pancryptodiran. Squamate lizards are known only from a few undetermined specimens, and eusuchian crocodiles are known from a specimen with similarities to Allodaposuchus and Musturzabalsuchus . [7]

Classification

Foot bones Rhabdodon priscus.jpg
Foot bones

The cladogram below is based on the analysis of Ösi et al. (2012): [3]

Ornithopoda

Related Research Articles

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Hypselosaurus is a dubious genus of titanosaurian sauropod that lived in southern France during the Late Cretaceous, approximately 70 million years ago in the early Maastrichtian. Hypselosaurus was first described in 1846, but was not formally named until 1869, when Phillip Matheron named it under the binomial Hypselosaurus priscus. The holotype specimen includes a partial hindlimb and a pair of caudal vertebrae, and two eggshell fragments were found alongside these bones. Because of the proximity of these eggshells to the fossil remains, many later authors, including Matheron and Paul Gervais, have assigned several eggs from the same region of France all to Hypselosaurus, although the variation and differences between these eggs suggest that they do not all belong to the same taxon. Hypselosaurus has been found in the same formation as the dromaeosaurids Variraptor and Pyroraptor, the ornithopod Rhabdodon, and the ankylosaurian Rhodanosaurus, as well as indeterminate bones from other groups.

<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>Hungarosaurus</i> Extinct species of reptile

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

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

Zalmoxes is a genus of rhabdodontid ornithopod dinosaur from the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous in what is now Romania. The genus is known from specimens first named as the species Mochlodon robustum in 1899 by Franz Nopcsa before being reclassified as Rhabdodon robustum by him in 1915. In 1990, this name was corrected to Rhabdodon robustus by George Olshevsky and, in 2003, the species was once more reclassified as the type species Zalmoxes robustus. Zalmoxes refers to the Dacian deity Zalmoxis and robustus refers to the robustness of the remains. Also in 2003, another species was named, Zalmoxes shqiperorum, named for the Albanian name for Albanians.

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

Lirainosaurus is a genus of titanosaur sauropod which lived in what is now Spain. The type species, Lirainosaurus astibiae, was described by Sanz, Powell, Le Loeuff, Martinez, and Pereda-Suberbiola in 1999. It was a relatively small sauropod, measuring 4 metres (13 ft) long, possibly up to 6 metres (20 ft) long for the largest individuals, and weighed about 2–4 metric tons.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Villalba de la Sierra Formation</span>

The Villalba de la Sierra Formation is a Campanian to Maastrichtian geologic formation in Spain. Fossil dinosaur eggs have been reported from the formation, that comprises gypsiferous, grey, argillaceous mudstones and sandstones, deposited in a floodplain environment characterised by high seasonality and variability in water availability.

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

Matheronodon is a genus of rhabdodontid ornithopod dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of the Grès à Reptiles Formation in France. The genus contains a single species, M. provincialis, which is known from a single maxilla and associated teeth. It was named by Pascal Godefroit and colleagues in 2017. The teeth of Matheronodon are large but few in number. The teeth are also in an unusual arrangement, emerging alternatingly from one of a pair of fused tooth sockets in its mouth. In life, the teeth would have functioned like a pair of scissors, allowing Matheronodon to feed on the tough leaves of monocot plants.

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References

  1. Paul, Gregory S. (2016). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press. p. 312. ISBN   978-1-78684-190-2. OCLC   985402380.
  2. Magyar, J. et al. 2024. Rhabdodontid (Dinosauria, Ornithopoda) diversity suggested by the first documented occurrence of associated cranial and postcranial material at Vălioara (uppermost Cretaceous Densuș-Ciula Formation, Hațeg Basin, Romania), Cretaceous Research, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105810
  3. 1 2 Ősi, A.; Prondvai, E.; Butler, R.; Weishampel, D. B. (2012). Evans, Alistair Robert (ed.). "Phylogeny, Histology and Inferred Body Size Evolution in a New Rhabdodontid Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Hungary". PLOS ONE. 7 (9): e44318. Bibcode:2012PLoSO...744318O. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0044318 . PMC   3448614 . PMID   23028518.
  4. Le Loeuff, J. (1995). "Ampelosaurus atacis (nov. gen., nov. sp.), un nouveau Titanosauridae (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) du Crétacé supérieur de la Haute Vallée de l'Aude (France)" (PDF). Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. IIa. 321. Paris: 693–699.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Weishampel, D.B.; Dodson, P.; Osmolska, H. (2004). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp. 259–322, 588–593. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.
  6. 1 2 Knoll, F.; Ridgely, R. C.; Ortega, F.; Sanz, J. L.; Witmer, L. M. (2013). Butler, Richard J (ed.). "Neurocranial Osteology and Neuroanatomy of a Late Cretaceous Titanosaurian Sauropod from Spain (Ampelosaurus sp.)". PLOS ONE. 8 (1): e54991. Bibcode:2013PLoSO...854991K. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0054991 . PMC   3552955 . PMID   23355905.
  7. 1 2 Barroso-Barcenilla, F.; Cambra-Moo, O.; Escaso, F.; Ortega, F.; Pascual, A.; Pérez-García, A.; Rodríguez-Lázaro, J.; Sanz, J. L.; Segura, M.; Torices, A. (2009). "New and exceptional discovery in the Upper Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula: The palaeontological site of "Lo Hueco", Cuenca, Spain". Cretaceous Research. 30 (5): 1268. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2009.07.010.

Further reading