Laplatasaurus

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Laplatasaurus
Temporal range: Campanian
~80–70  Ma
Laplatasaurus Tibia-Fibula.png
Tibia & fibula of Laplatasaurus. Scale bar equals 10cm.
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: Titanosauria
Genus: Laplatasaurus
von Huene, 1929
Type species
Laplatasaurus araukanicus
von Huene, 1929
Synonyms
  • Laplatasaurus wichmannianusvon Huene, 1929
  • Titanosaurus araukanicus
    von Huene, 1929 vide Powell, 1992

Laplatasaurus (meaning "La Plata lizard", named for La Plata, Argentina) 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.

Naming and description

The genus was named in 1927 by Friedrich von Huene, but without a description, so that it remained a nomen nudum . [1] In 1929 the type species, Laplatasaurus araukanicus, was described by Huene. [2] The generic name refers to La Plata. The specific name is derived from the Araucanos or Mapuche. By accident Huene in 1929 also mentioned a "Laplatasaurus wichmannianus" but that was a lapsus calami for Antarctosaurus wichmannianus. In 1933 however, he and Charles Alfred Matley renamed Titanosaurus madagascariensis to Laplatasaurus madagascariensis. [3] This last species is today commonly referred to the original Titanosaurus.

Megaloolithus egg from the Anacleto Formation that was previously assigned to Titanosaurus that may have instead been laid by Laplatasaurus Titanosaurus-egg.jpg
Megaloolithus egg from the Anacleto Formation that was previously assigned to Titanosaurus that may have instead been laid by Laplatasaurus

Huene based Laplatasaurus on fragmentary material found in three locations in Argentina, in strata of the Anacleto Formation, [4] dating from the Campanian faunal stage. It consisted of limb elements, some dorsal vertebrae and a series of caudal vertebrae. Part of the finds had earlier been referred by Richard Lydekker to Titanosaurus australis. Huene never assigned a holotype, but in 1979 José Fernando Bonaparte chose MLP 26-306 as the lectotype, a specimen consisting of a tibia and a fibula that perhaps originate from different individuals.

Huene assigned those fossils to Laplatasaurus that seemed to indicate a rather large yet at the same time elegantly built sauropod. The about eighteen metres (60 ft) long Laplatasaurus was perhaps similar to Saltasaurus . Osteoderms forming an armored plating on the back, have been referred to Laplatasaurus but the association is uncertain. These plates had much smaller ridges than those of Saltasaurus.

A Megaloolithus egg found in the Anacleto Formation in Auca Mahuevo, Argentina [5] that was once assigned to Titanosaurus may have instead been laid by Laplatasaurus.

Taxonomy

Huene placed Laplatasaurus in the Titanosauridae, which is still a common classification. In his 2003 review of South American titanosaurs, Jaime Eduardo Powell assigned Laplatasaurus to Titanosaurus , creating the new combination Titanosaurus aurakanicus. [6] Others however, continued to treat Laplatasaurus as valid genus separate from Titanosaurus. [7] [8] [9]

A 2015 re-assessment of Laplatasaurus found it to be closely related to Bonitasaura , Futalognkosaurus , Mendozasaurus , and Uberabatitan . The genus was restricted to the lectotype, and the material from Rancho de Avila was assigned to cf. Bonitasaura sp. [4]

Related Research Articles

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

Saltasaurus is a genus of saltasaurid dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous period of Argentina. Small among sauropods, though still heavy by the standards of modern creatures, Saltasaurus was characterized by a short neck and stubby limbs. It was the first genus of sauropod known to possess armour of bony plates embedded in its skin. Such small bony plates, called osteoderms, have since been found on other titanosaurians.

<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>Titanosaurus</i> Extinct genus of dinosaurs

Titanosaurus is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaurs, first described by Richard Lydekker in 1877. It is known from the Maastrichtian Lameta Formation of India.

<i>Pelorosaurus</i> Genus of dinosaur

Pelorosaurus is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur. Remains referred to Pelorosaurus date from the Early Cretaceous period, about 140-125 million years ago, and have been found in England and Portugal. Thomas Holtz estimated its length at 24 meters.

<i>Antarctosaurus</i> Sauropod dinosaur genus from Late Cretaceous

Antarctosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now South America. The type species, Antarctosaurus wichmannianus, and a second species, Antarctosaurus giganteus, were described by prolific German paleontologist Friedrich von Huene in 1929. Three additional species of Antarctosaurus have been named since then but later studies have considered them dubious or unlikely to pertain to the genus.

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

Jainosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur of India and wider Asia, which lived in the Maastrichtian. It is thought to have been about the same size as its contemporary relative Isisaurus, measuring 18 metres (59 ft) long and weighing 15 metric tons. The humerus of the type specimen is 134 centimetres long.

<i>Argyrosaurus</i> Genus of herbivorous titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur

Argyrosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur that lived about 70 million years ago, during the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now Argentina.

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

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.

Agustinia is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of South America. The genus contains a single species, Agustinia ligabuei, known from a single specimen that was recovered from the Lohan Cura Formation of Neuquén Province in Argentina. It lived about 116–108 million years ago, in the Aptian–Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous Period.

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

Bonitasaura is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur hailing from uppermost layers of the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) Bajo de la Carpa Formation, Neuquén Group of the eastern Neuquén Basin, located in Río Negro Province, Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. The remains, consisting of a partial sub-adult skeleton jumbled in a small area of fluvial sandstone, including a lower jaw with teeth, a partial vertebrae series, and limb bones, were described by Sebastian Apesteguía in 2004.

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

Andesaurus is a genus of basal titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur which existed during the middle of the Cretaceous Period in South America. Like most sauropods, belonging to one of the largest animals ever to walk the Earth, it would have had a small head on the end of a long neck and an equally long tail.

Eucamerotus was a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Barremian-age Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation (Wealden) of the Isle of Wight, England.

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

Ornithopsis is a genus of sauropod dinosaur, from the Early Cretaceous of England. The type species, which is the only species seen as valid today, is O. hulkei, which is only known from fragmentary remains, and has been regarded by many authors as dubious.

Clasmodosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Bajo Barreal Formation. It lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Argentina. It is known only from three fossilized teeth, and is therefore a tooth taxon. It is a nomen dubium.

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

Iuticosaurus is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of the Isle of Wight. Two species have been named: I. valdensis and I. lydekkeri. I. valdensis was found in the Wessex Formation and I. lydekkeri in the younger Upper Greensand.

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

Lapparentosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic. Its fossils were found in Madagascar. The type species is L. madagascariensis.

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

Neuquensaurus is a genus of saltasaurid sauropod dinosaur that lived in the Late Cretaceous, about 80 million years ago in Argentina in South America. Its fossils were recovered from outcrops of the Anacleto Formation around Cinco Saltos, near the Neuquén river from which its name is derived.

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

Macrurosaurus is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous. It was a titanosauriform which lived in what is now England. The type species, M. semnus, was named in 1876. A second species, M. platypus, may also exist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saltasaurinae</span> Extinct subfamily of dinosaurs

Saltasaurinae is a subfamily of titanosaurian sauropods known from the late Cretaceous period of South America, India and Madagascar.

References

  1. Huene, F. von, 1927, "Sichtung der Grundlagen der Jetzigen Kenntnis der Sauropoden", Eclogae geologicae Helvetiae, 20: 444-470
  2. Huene, F. von, 1929, Los Saurisquios y Ornithisquios de Cretaceo Argentino, Anales Museo de La Plata, 2nd series, v. 3, p. 1-196
  3. Huene, F. von, and Mately C. A., 1933, "The Cretaceous Saurischia and Ornithischia of the central provinces of India", Palaeontologia Indica, 21: 1-74
  4. 1 2 Gallina, Pablo Ariel; Otero, Alejandro (2015-10-01). "Reassessment of Laplatasaurus araukanicus (Sauropoda: Titanosauria) from the Upper Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina" (PDF). Ameghiniana. 52 (5): 487. doi:10.5710/amgh.08.06.2015.2911. ISSN   0002-7014. S2CID   131595654.
  5. Megaloolithus at Fossilworks.org
  6. Powell, J. E., 2003, "Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs: palaeobiological, palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects", Records of the Queen Victoria Museum111: 1-173
  7. Wilson, Jeffrey A.; Upchurch, Paul (January 2003). "A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (dinosauria - sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a 'Gondwanan' distribution". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 1 (3): 125–160. Bibcode:2003JSPal...1..125W. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.578.8885 . doi:10.1017/s1477201903001044. ISSN   1477-2019. S2CID   53997295.
  8. Upchurch, P., Barrett, P.M. and Dodson, P. 2004. Sauropoda. In The Dinosauria, 2nd edition. D. Weishampel, P. Dodson, and H. Osmólska (eds.). University of California Press, Berkeley. ISBN   0-520-24209-2, S. 259–322.
  9. Salgado, L. & Coria, R. A. 2005. Sauropods of Patagonia: Systematic update and notes on Global Sauropod evolution. In. Thunder-Lizards. The Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Ed. V. Tidwell & K. Carpenter. Indiana University Press. Bloomington and Indianapolis. Indiana University Press430-453.