Sauropodiformes

Sauropodiformes Temporal range: Late Triassic - Late Cretaceous, 228–66  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeleton of Jingshanosaurus xinwaensis at the Miami Science Museum
Lessemsaurus sauropoides
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	† Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	† Massopoda
Clade:	† Sauropodiformes Sereno, 2007
Subgroups
Sauropodiformes sensu McPhee et al., 2013 † Chuxiongosaurus ? † Jingshanosaurus † Lishulong † Qianlong † Seitaad † Xingxiulong † Yunnanosaurus †Sauropodiformes sensu Sereno, 2007 † Aardonyx † Anchisaurus † Irisosaurus † Lamplughsaura † Leonerasaurus † Mussaurus † Sefapanosaurus † Yizhousaurus † Lessemsauridae ? † Melanorosauridae † Sauropoda Sauropodiformes incertae sedis † Amygdalodon † Isanosaurus † Kotasaurus † Meroktenos

Sauropodiformes is an extinct clade of sauropodomorph dinosaurs that includes the animals more closely related to Sauropoda than prosauropods like Massospondylus and Plateosaurus . It was named in 2007 by Paul Sereno. ^[1] Below is a cladogram of basal sauropodomorpha after Alania and colleagues (2025). ^[2]

Massopoda

Seitaad Riojasauridae SMF 13.5.37 Massospondylidae Sauropodiformes Yunnanosaurus huangi Xingxiulong Jingshanosaurus Lufengosaurus magnus Yizhousaurus Yunnanosaurus youngi Irisosaurus Yunnanosaurus robustus Sauropodiformes Leonerasaurus Lamplughsaura Mussaurus Anchisaurus Aardonyx Sefapanosaurus NMQR 1551 Melanorosaurus Sauropoda Blikanasaurus Lessemsauridae Pulanesaura Gongxianosaurus Schleitheimia Isanosaurus Sauropoda (sensu stricto) sensu lato sensu stricto sensu lato

Anchisauria is a smaller clade within Sauropodiformes. The name Anchisauria was first used Haekel and defined by Galton and Upchurch in the second edition of The Dinosauria. ^{[3] [4]} It is a node-based taxon containing the most recent common ancestor of Anchisaurus polyzelus and Melanorosaurus readi , and all its descendants. ^[5] Galton and Upchurch assigned a family of dinosaurs to the Anchisauria: the Melanorosauridae. The more common prosauropods Plateosaurus and Massospondylus were placed in the sister clade Plateosauria.

However, research has since indicated that Anchisaurus is closer to sauropods than traditional prosauropods; thus, Anchisauria would by definition also include Sauropoda. ^[6]

See also

• List of sauropod species

References

1. McPhee, B. W.; Yates, A. M.; Choiniere, J. N.; Abdala, F. (2014). "The complete anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Antetonitrus ingenipes (Sauropodiformes, Dinosauria): Implications for the origins of Sauropoda". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 171: 151–205. doi:10.1111/zoj.12127.
2. Lania, Alessandro; Pabst, Ben; Scheyer, Torsten M. (2025). "Craniomandibular osteology of a new massopodan sauropodomorph (Dinosauria: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic (Latest Norian) of Canton Aargau, Switzerland". Swiss Journal of Palaeontology. 144 39. doi: 10.1186/s13358-025-00373-6 .
3. Haeckel, Ernst (1895). Systematische Phylogenie der Wirbelthiere: (Vertebrata) (in German). G. Reimer.
4. The dinosauria. David B. Weishampel, Peter Dodson, Halszka Osmólska (2nd ed.). Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press. 2007. ISBN   978-0-520-25408-4. OCLC   154697781.
5. Bronzati, M.; Müller, R. T.; Langer, M. C. (2019). "Skull remains of the dinosaur Saturnalia tupiniquim (Late Triassic, Brazil): With comments on the early evolution of sauropodomorph feeding behaviour". PLOS ONE. 14 (9): e0221387. Bibcode:2019PLoSO..1421387B. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221387 . PMC   6730896 . PMID   31490962.
6. Yates, Adam M. (2010). "A revision of the problematic sauropodomorph dinosaurs from Manchester, Connecticut and the status of Anchisaurus Marsh". Palaeontology . 53 (4): 739–752. Bibcode:2010Palgy..53..739Y. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-4983.2010.00952.x . S2CID   140535438.