Wintonotitan

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Wintonotitan
Temporal range: Cenomanian, [1] 95  Ma
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Wintonotitan wattsi.png
Silhouette of Wintonotitan wattsi with known skeletal elements
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: Diamantinasauria (?)
Genus: Wintonotitan
Species:
W. wattsi
Binomial name
Wintonotitan wattsi
Hocknull et al., 2009

Wintonotitan (meaning "Winton titan") is a genus of titanosauriform dinosaur from Cenomanian (Late Cretaceous)-age [2] Winton Formation of Australia. It is known from partial postcranial remains.

Contents

Description and history

Life restoration Wintonotitan.png
Life restoration

Fossils that are now known under the name Wintonotitan were first found in 1974 by Keith Watts. At the time, the specimens were assigned to an Austrosaurus sp., Austrosaurus then being the only named Australian Cretaceous sauropod genus. These fossils, catalogued as QMF  7292, consisted of a left shoulder blade, much of the forelimbs, a number of back, hip, and tail vertebrae, part of the right hip, ribs, chevrons, and unidentifiable fragments. QMF 7292 was established as the type specimen of Wintonotitan in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues. Hocknull suggested that Austrosaurus mckillopi differed only slightly from the QMF 7292, the holotype of Wintonotitan wattsii, and should be considered a nomen dubium . The type species is W. wattsi, honoring the original discoverer. [3]

Palaeoecology

Arm bones Wintonotitan arm.png
Arm bones

QMF 7292 was found about 60 kilometres (37 mi) northwest of Winton, near Elderslie Station. A second specimen, QMF 10916, consisting of isolated tail vertebrae, was found at Chorregan. Both were recovered from the lower part of the Winton Formation, dated to the Cenomanian. QMF 7292 was found in sandstone interpreted as a point bar of a river. Also found at the site were fish fragments, a theropod tooth, and a variety of plant fossils, including woody stems, branch impressions, cones and cone scales, and pieces of leaves. The Winton Formation had a faunal assemblage including bivalves, gastropods, insects, the lungfish Metaceratodus , turtles, the crocodilian Isisfordia , pterosaurs, and several types of dinosaurs, such as the theropod Australovenator , the sauropod Diamantinasaurus , and unnamed ankylosaurians and ornithopods. Wintonotitan bones can be distinguished from Diamantinasaurus bones because Wintonotitan bones are not as robust. Plants known from the formation include ferns, ginkgoes, gymnosperms, and angiosperms. [3] Like other sauropods, Wintonotitan would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore. [4]

Classification

In their 2009 description, Hocknull et al. found Wintonotitan to be a non-titanosaurian titanosauriform sauropod in their phylogenetic analyses. [3] A similar placement was also recovered in several analyses in the subsequent years, including by Poropat et al. (2021) in their description of Diamantinasaurus fossil material. [5] [6] Their results are displayed in the cladogram below:

Somphospondyli

The phylogenetic placement of the contemporary sauropods in the Winton Formation ( Australotitan , Diamantinasaurus, and Savannasaurus ) has been contentious. While they are consistently found to nest together in a monophyletic clade called the Diamantinasauria, the placement of this clade is inconsistent between analyses. [7] While some authors have found it in various placements within the Titanosauria, others recover it just outside of this clade. [8] In their 2024 review and analysis of sauropod fossils from the Winton Formation, Beeston et al. reviewed the relationships of diamantinasaur specimens in a phylogenetic analysis, and recovered the clade as the sister taxon to the Titanosauria within the Somphospondyli. This marked the first time Wintonotitan was recovered within the Diamantinasauria. Their results are displayed in the cladogram below: [9]

Somphospondyli

Titanosauria

Diamantinasauria

Sarmientosaurus

Australotitan ("Cooper"; holotype, EMF102)

AODF 0032 ("Mick"; possible distinct species)

AODF 0836 ("Alex"; referred to Diamantinasaurus)

Diamantinasaurus ("Matilda"; holotype, AODF 0603)

AODF 2296 ("Leo"; possibly Wintonotitan)

Wintonotitan("Clancy"; holotype, QM F7292)

AODF 0665 ("Trixie"; Diamantinasauria incertae sedis)

AODF 0590 ("McKenzie"; Diamantinasauria incertae sedis)

AODF 0906 ("Ann"; referred to Diamantinasaurus)

Savannasaurus ("Wade"; holotype, AODF 0660)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titanosauria</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Titanosaurs were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as Patagotitan—estimated at 37 m (121 ft) long with a weight of 69 tonnes —and the comparably-sized Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus from the same region.

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

Nemegtosauridae is a family of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs based on their diplodocid-like skulls. Only three species are known: Nemegtosaurus, Quaesitosaurus and possibly Tapuiasaurus, each from the Cretaceous.

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

Asiatosaurus is an extinct genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur which lived during the Early Cretaceous in Mongolia and China. The type species is known only from teeth, making it difficult to rely on information until more specimens are found to expand our knowledge, and another species is known, also based on scant remains; both are now classified as nomina dubia.

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

Austrosaurus was an extinct genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Allaru Formation, from the early Cretaceous of Central-Western Queensland in Australia.

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

Tendaguria is a genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Lindi Region, Tanzania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lithostrotia</span> Extinct clade of dinosaurs

Lithostrotia is a clade of derived titanosaur sauropods that lived during the Early Cretaceous and Late Cretaceous. The group was defined by Upchurch et al. in 2004 as the most recent common ancestor of Malawisaurus and Saltasaurus and all the descendants of that ancestor. Lithostrotia is derived from the Ancient Greek lithostros, meaning "inlaid with stones", referring to the fact that many known lithostrotians are preserved with osteoderms. However, osteoderms are not a distinguishing feature of the group, as the two noted by Unchurch et al. include caudal vertebrae with strongly concave front faces (procoely), although the farthest vertebrae are not procoelous.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winton Formation</span> Geological formation in Australia

The Winton Formation is a Cretaceous geological formation in central-western Queensland, Australia. It is late Albian to early Turonian in age. The formation blankets large areas of central-western Queensland. It consists of sedimentary rocks such as sandstone, siltstone and claystone. The sediments that make up these rocks represent the remnants of the river plains that filled the basin left by the Eromanga Sea - an inland sea that covered large parts of Queensland and central Australia at least four times during the Early Cretaceous. Great meandering rivers, forest pools and swamps, creeks, lakes and coastal estuaries all left behind different types of sediment.

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

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.

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

Australovenator is a genus of megaraptoran theropod dinosaur from Cenomanian -age Winton Formation of Australia. Some specimens from the Albian-aged Eumeralla Formation may belong to Australovenator. It is known from partial cranial and postcranial remains which were described in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues, although additional descriptions and analyses continue to be published. It is the most complete predatory dinosaur discovered in Australia. It has been suggested that Australovenator is a sister taxon to Fukuiraptor, although some phylogenetic analyses find it to be a more derived member of the Megaraptora, possibly being part of the main Megaraptoridae family itself.

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

Diamantinasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod from Australia that lived during the early Late Cretaceous, about 94 million years ago. The type species of the genus is D. matildae, first described and named in 2009 by Scott Hocknull and colleagues based on fossil finds in the Winton Formation. Meaning "Diamantina lizard", the name is derived from the location of the nearby Diamantina River and the Greek word sauros, "lizard". The specific epithet is from the Australian song Waltzing Matilda, also the locality of the holotype and paratype. The known skeleton includes most of the forelimb, shoulder girdle, pelvis, hindlimb and ribs of the holotype, and one shoulder bone, a radius and some vertebrae of the paratype.

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

Xianshanosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) of the Ruyang Basin in Henan Province, China. Its type and only species is Xianshanosaurus shijiagouensis. It was described in 2009 by a team of paleontologists led by Lü Junchang. Xianshanosaurus may be a titanosaur, and Daxiatitan may be its closest relative, but its evolutionary relationships remain controversial.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian Age of Dinosaurs</span> Museum of Natural History in Winton, Queensland

Australian Age of Dinosaurs Ltd. (AAOD) is a nonprofit organization located in Winton, Queensland, founded by David Elliott and Judy Elliott in 2002. The organization’s activities include the operation of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, which holds annual dinosaur digs in the Winton Formation of Western Queensland and oversees the year-round operation of Australia's most productive dinosaur fossil preparation laboratory. Since 2005, the AAOD Museum has accumulated the largest collection of Australian dinosaur fossils in the world and holds the holotype specimens of Diamantinasaurus matildae, Savannasaurus elliottorum, Australovenator wintonensis, Australia's most complete theropod skeleton, Ferrodraco lentoni, the first pterosaur to be named from the Winton Formation, and Confractosuchus sauroktonos. The museum is open to the public daily from April to October and is open six days a week from November to March. The site of the museum was designated a dark-sky preserve, the first International Dark-Sky Sanctuary in Australia, in 2019.

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

Sarmientosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur belonging to the Titanosauria. It lived in what is now South America, specifically Argentina, during the Upper Cretaceous Period about 95 million years ago. The type species is Sarmientosaurus musacchioi.

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

Savannasaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia. It contains one species, Savannasaurus elliottorum, named in 2016 by Stephen Poropat and colleagues. The holotype and only known specimen, originally nicknamed "Wade", is the most complete specimen of an Australian sauropod, and is held at the Australian Age of Dinosaurs museum. Dinosaurs known from contemporary rocks include its close relative Diamantinasaurus and the theropod Australovenator; associated teeth suggest that Australovenator may have fed on the holotype specimen.

Triunfosaurus is a genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Brazil. It contains a single species, T. leonardii, described by Carvalho et al. in 2017. As a genus, Triunfosaurus can be distinguished from all other titanosaurs by the unique proportions of its ischium. It was initially described as a basal titanosaur, making it the earliest basal titanosaur known; however, subsequent research questioned the identification of the taxon as a titanosaur, instead reassigning it to the Somphospondyli.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diamantinasauria</span> Clade of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaurs

Diamantinasauria is an extinct clade of somphospondylan titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs with close affinities to the Titanosauria, known from the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian-Turonian) of South America and Australia. It was named by Poropat and colleagues in 2021, and contains four genera: Australotitan, Savannasaurus and Diamantinasaurus from the Winton Formation of Queensland, as well as Sarmientosaurus from the Bajo Barreal Formation of Patagonia. The existence of the clade indicates connectivity between Australia and South America via Antarctica during the Cretaceous period.

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

Dzharatitanis is a genus of sauropod from the Bissekty Formation in Uzbekistan, dating to the Turonian age of the Late Cretaceous. The genus contains a single species, Dzharatitanis kingi, named after geologist Christopher King, who contributed to the Cretaceous geology of Asia. It is currently one of two known sauropods from the Bissekty Formation, alongside an indeterminate titanosaur. In its original publication it was considered to be a member of Rebbachisauridae, but later papers considered it to be a titanosaur.

<i>Australotitan</i> Extinct genus of sauropod dinosaurs

Australotitan is an extinct genus of possibly titanosaurian somphospondylan dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous Winton Formation (Cenomanian–Turonian) of southern-central Queensland, Australia. The genus contains a single species, A. cooperensis, known from multiple partial skeletons. The genus Australotitan may be synonymous with Diamantinasaurus, a contemporary relative.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Elliott (palaeontologist)</span> Australian paleontologist and farmer

David Anthon Elliott is an Australian palaeontologist and sheep and cattle grazier who co-founded the Australian Age of Dinosaurs in Winton, Queensland, with his wife Judy and currently serves as Executive Chairman. His significant contributions to the local, national and global communities have been far-reaching, with a profound impact on the field of palaeontology. Through the establishment and development of the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, he has pioneered a new form of tourism known as palaeotourism, attracting new visitors to regional Australia.

References

  1. Poropat, S.F.; Upchurch, P.; Mannion, P.D.; Hocknull, S.A.; Kear, B.P.; Sloan, T.; Sinapius, G.H.K.; Elliot, D.A. (2014). "Revision of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae Hocknull et al. 2009 from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia: Implications for Gondwanan titanosauriform dispersal". Gondwana Research. 27 (3): 995–1033. doi: 10.1016/j.gr.2014.03.014 . hdl: 10044/1/27497 .
  2. Poropat, Stephen F.; Bell, Phil R.; Hart, Lachlan J.; Salisbury, Steven W.; Kear, Benjamin P. (2023-04-03). "An annotated checklist of Australian Mesozoic tetrapods". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 47 (2): 129–205. doi:10.1080/03115518.2023.2228367. ISSN   0311-5518.
  3. 1 2 3 Hocknull, Scott A.; White, Matt A.; Tischler, Travis R.; Cook, Alex G.; Calleja, Naomi D.; Sloan, Trish; Elliott, David A. (2009). Sereno, Paul (ed.). "New Mid-Cretaceous (Latest Albian) Dinosaurs from Winton, Queensland, Australia". PLOS ONE. 4 (7): e6190. Bibcode:2009PLoSO...4.6190H. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006190 . PMC   2703565 . PMID   19584929.
  4. Upchurch, Paul; Barrett, Paul M.; Dodson, Peter. (2004). "Sauropoda". In Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; Osmólska, Halszka (eds.). The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. pp.  259–322. ISBN   0-520-24209-2.
  5. Royo-Torres, R.; Fuentes, C.; Meijide-Fuentes, F.; Meijide-Fuentes, M. (2017). "A new Brachiosauridae Sauropod dinosaur from the lower Cretaceous of Europe (Soria Province, Spain)". Cretaceous Research. 80: 38–55. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2017.08.012.
  6. Poropat, Stephen F; Kundrát, Martin; Mannion, Philip D; Upchurch, Paul; Tischler, Travis R; Elliott, David A (2021-01-20). "Second specimen of the Late Cretaceous Australian sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae provides new anatomical information on the skull and neck of early titanosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 192 (2): 610–674. doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaa173 . ISSN   0024-4082.
  7. Poropat, S. F.; Mannion, P. D.; Rigby, S. L.; Duncan, R. J.; Pentland, A. H.; Bevitt, J. J.; Sloan, T.; Elliott, D. A. (2023). "A nearly complete skull of the sauropod dinosaur Diamantinasaurus matildae from the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Australia and implications for the early evolution of titanosaurs". Royal Society Open Science. 10 (4). 221618. doi: 10.1098/rsos.221618 . PMC   10090887 .
  8. Han, F.; Yang, L.; Lou, F.; Sullivan, C.; Xu, X.; Qiu, W.; Liu, H.; Yu, J.; Wu, R.; Ke, Y.; Xu, M.; Hu, J.; Lu, P. (2024). "A new titanosaurian sauropod, Gandititan cavocaudatus gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Cretaceous of southern China". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 22 (1). 2293038. Bibcode:2024JSPal..2293038H. doi:10.1080/14772019.2023.2293038.
  9. Beeston, S. L.; Poropat, S. F.; Mannion, P. D.; Pentland, A. H.; Enchelmaier, M. J.; Sloan, T.; Elliott, D. A. (2024). "Reappraisal of sauropod dinosaur diversity in the Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, through 3D digitisation and description of new specimens". PeerJ . 12. e17180. doi: 10.7717/peerj.17180 . PMC   11011616 .

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