Uberabatitan Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
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Life restoration | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | † Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | † Sauropoda |
Clade: | † Macronaria |
Clade: | † Titanosauria |
Clade: | † Lithostrotia |
Genus: | † Uberabatitan Salgado and Carvalho, 2008 |
Type species | |
†Uberabatitan ribeiroi Salgado and Carvalho, 2008 |
Uberabatitan (meaning "Uberaba titan", in reference to where it was found) is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. It is known from bones including neck, back, and tail vertebrae, pelvic bones, and limb bones. These fossils were found in the uppermost portion of the Maastrichtian-age Serra da Galga Formation of the Bauru Group, in Uberaba, Minas Gerais. The type species, described by Salgado and Carvalho in 2008, is U. ribeiroi. To date, it is the most recent titanosaur from Bauru Group rocks; other titanosaurs from the Bauru Group, including Baurutitan and Trigonosaurus , come from lower (thus older) levels. [1]
Uberabatitan ribeiroi was named by Leonardo Salgado and Ismar de Souza Carvalho in 2008, [1] based on specimens found at a road cut along Federal Highway BR-050 [2] in Uberaba, Minas Gerais. The genus name refers to Uberaba and the species name honors Luiz Carlos Borges Ribeiro, the director of the Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas Lewellyn Price, for his support. [1]
Fossils of Uberabatitan ribeiroi have been found in the Serra da Galga Formation [lower-alpha 1] in Minas Gerais, Brazil. All the specimens attributed to U. ribeiroi were found in a single quarry, and have been accessioned at the Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas Llewellyn Ivor Price (CPPLIP) at the Federal University of Triângulo Mineiro. More than sixty bones have been found, representing the intermingled remains of at least five individuals of various sizes [3] and ages, with both immature and mature individuals represented. [5] These remains include cervical, dorsal, sacral, and caudal vertebrae, chevrons, and portions of the shoulders, hips, and limbs. As is commonly the case in titanosaurs, the skull is not known. The holotype consists of the tibia (CPPLIP-912), fibula (CPPLIP-1107), and astragalus (CPPLIP-1082) of a single individual; other elements had initially been included in the holotype as well, but were excluded due to the lack of evidence that they came from the same individual. [3] Another specimen from the Serra da Galga Formation, MCT 1487-R, also known as "DGM Series A", exhibits close similarities to Uberabatitan and may belong to it, or at least a close relative. [3] MCT 1487-R consists of a nearly complete neck, one of the few known for any titanosaur. [6] Two teeth found at the Uberabatitan site, and others found elsewhere in the Serra da Galga Formation, may also belong to Uberabatitan ribeiroi; one of these teeth, CPPLIP-1166, is the largest titanosaur tooth ever found, with a crown 6.2 centimetres (2.4 in) high from its base to its apex. [7]
As a sauropod, Uberabatitan would have been a large, quadrupedal herbivore with a long neck. [8] It has been estimated that Uberabatitan ribeiroi could reach a length of 26 metres (85 ft), although most known specimens are of much smaller individuals. [3]
Although the skull of Uberabatitan is unknown, it may belong to a clade of titanosaurs that were characterized by a broad, squared-off snout. [9] The teeth possibly referable to Uberabatitan are slender and chisel-like, as in other titanosaurs. [7]
As in many other sauropods, Uberabatitan had hyper-elongate cervical ribs, much of the length of which was formed by ossified tendons. [5]
The tibia and fibula of Uberabatitan exhibit some taxonomically significant traits. The tibia has a robust lateral protuberance that articulates with a medial knob on the fibula, which is an autapomorphy of Uberabatitan ribeiroi. [3] As in Laplatasaurus, but unlike most titanosaurs, there is a concave surface behind the lateral tuberosity of the fibula. [10]
Phylogenetic position of Uberabatitan in an analysis by Silva and colleagues in 2019: [3]
Titanosauria |
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Possible close relatives of Uberabatitan include Laplatasaurus and Brasilotitan . Gallina and Otero recovered Laplatasaurus as the sister taxon of Uberabatitan in an analysis that did not include Brasilotitan. [10] Navarro and colleagues and Filippi and colleagues have recovered Brasilotitan as the sister taxon of Uberabatitan in analyses that did not include Laplatasaurus. [11] [9] Silva and colleagues regarded a close relationship between Uberabatitan and Brasilotitan "possible"; their analysis recovered a polytomy of Brasilotitan, Uberabatitan, and a clade containing other members of Aeolosaurini. [3] In an analysis that included neither Laplatasaurus nor Brasilotitan, Uberabatitan was recovered as a member of Aeolosaurini most closely related to Bravasaurus , Gondwanatitan , and Trigonosaurus . [12]
Uberabatitan, like other sauropods, underwent rapid, uninterrupted growth early in life. Individuals closer to maturity would have transitioned to cyclical growth, with periodic slowdowns in their growth rate. [5]
Aeolosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. Like most sauropods, it would have been a quadrupedal herbivore with a long neck and tail. Aeolosaurus is well known for a titanosaur, as it is represented by the remains of several individuals belonging to at least two species. However, like most titanosaurs, no remains of the skull are known. The holotype of Aeolosaurus rionegrinus consists of a series of seven tail vertebrae, as well as parts of both forelimbs and the right hindlimb. It was discovered in the Angostura Colorada Formation in Argentina, which dates from the Campanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, about 83 to 74 million years ago. The species A. maximus was transferred over to the new genus Arrudatitan in 2021.
Adamantisaurus is a poorly-known genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. It is only known from six tail vertebrae but, as a sauropod, it can be assumed that this dinosaur was a very large animal with a long neck and tail.
Bonatitan is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Allen Formation of Argentina. It was named in 2004.
Laplatasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in South America, with the holotype and only known specimen found in the Anacleto Formation.
Baurutitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Brazil. The type species, Baurutitan britoi, was described in 2005 by Kellner and colleagues, although the fossil remains had already been discovered in 1957. Baurutitan is classified as a lithostrotian titanosaur, and is distinguished from related genera based on its distinctive caudal vertebrae. This South American dinosaur was found in the Serra da Galga Formation near Uberaba, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais.
Trigonosaurus, is a genus of saltasaurid dinosaurs from the Maastrichtian Serra da Galga Formation of Brazil. The type species, Trigonosaurus pricei, was first described by Campos, Kellner, Bertini, and Santucci in 2005. It was based on two specimens, both consisting mainly of vertebrae. The two specimens were originally believed to have come from the same individual. However, one specimen was described as the holotype of Caieiria in 2022, while the holotype may have instead come from Baurutitan. Before its description, it was known as the "Peirópolis titanosaur", after the place it was found.
Pellegrinisaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period. The holotype was found in the Allen Formation, Argentina.
The Marília Formation is a geological formation in Minas Gerais state of southeastern Brazil. Its strata date back to the Maastrichtian, and are part of the Bauru Group.
The Uberaba Formation is a Campanian geologic formation belonging to the Bauru Group of the Bauru Sub-basin, Paraná Basin located in Minas Gerais state of southeastern Brazil. The Uberaba Formation, intercalating the fossiliferous older Adamantina and younger Marília Formation, comprises limestones, sandstones, and conglomerates, often cemented by calcite with volcaniclastic sediments. The formation interfingers with the Adamantina Formation.
Lognkosauria is a clade of giant long-necked sauropod dinosaurs within the clade Titanosauria. It includes some of the largest and heaviest dinosaurs known. They lived in South America and likely Asia during the Late Cretaceous period.
Tapuiasaurus is a genus of titanosaur which lived during the Lower Cretaceous period in what is now Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Aeolosaurini is an extinct clade of titanosaurian dinosaurs known from the Cretaceous period of Argentina and Brazil. Rodrigo M. Santucci and Antonio C. de Arruda-Campos (2011) in their cladistic analysis found Aeolosaurus, Gondwanatitan, Maxakalisaurus, Panamericansaurus and Rinconsaurus to be aeolosaurids.
Austroposeidon is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Presidente Prudente Formation of Brazil. It contains one species, Austroposeidon magnificus.
Thanos is a genus of carnivorous brachyrostran abelisaurid dinosaur that lived in Brazil during the Santonian stage of the late Cretaceous Period. It contains only a single species known as T. simonattoi.
Arrudatitan is an extinct genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur known from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian)-aged Adamantina Formation of Brazil. The type species, A. maximus, was named and described in 2011 as a species of Aeolosaurus, but was separated into its own genus in 2021. It was relatively gracile for a titanosaur.
Ibirania is a genus of dwarf saltasaurine titanosaur dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous São José do Rio Preto Formation of south-east Brazil. The type species is Ibirania parva. It is one of the smallest sauropods known to date, comparable in size to the titanosaur Magyarosaurus.
Caieiria is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Serra da Galga Formation of Brazil. The type and only species is Caieiria allocaudata.
The Serra da Galga Formation is a geological formation in Minas Gerais state of southeastern Brazil. Its strata date back to the Maastrichtian, and are part of the Bauru Group. It was originally considered a member of the Marília Formation.
Inawentu is an extinct genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Bajo de la Carpa Formation of Argentina. The genus contains a single species, I. oslatus, known from a partial articulated skeleton including the skull. The square-shaped jaw of Inawentu demonstrates convergent characteristics with rebbachisaurids.