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Titanosaurs
Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of Sauropoda, 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 Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the Largest land animal, largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as ''Patagotitan'', estimated at long with a mass of , and the comparably-sized ''Argentinosaurus'' and ''Puertasaurus'' from the Patagonia, same region. The group's name alludes to the mythological Titan (mythology), Titans of ancient Greek mythology, via the type genus (now considered a ''nomen dubium)'' ''Titanosaurus''. Together with the Brachiosauridae, brachiosaurids and relatives, titanosaurs make up the larger sauropod clade Titanosauriformes. Titanosaurs have long been a poorly-known group, and the rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lithostrotia
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 , 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. History of research In 1895, Richard Lydekker named the family Titanosauridae to summarize sauropods with procoelous (concave on the front) caudal vertebrae. The name Titanosauridae has since been widely used, and was defined by Salgado and colleagues (1997), Gonzalaz-Riga (2003), and Salgado (2003) as a node-based ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Epachthosaurus
''Epachthosaurus'' (meaning "heavy lizard") was a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. It was a basal Lithostrotia, lithostrotian titanosaur. Its fossils have been found in Central and Northern Patagonia in South America. Discovery and naming The type species, ''E. sciuttoi'', was described by Powell in 1990. The bones assigned to it by Powell in 1990 were, originally, assigned to ''Antarctosaurus, Antarctosaurus sp.'', and then to ''Argyrosaurus, Argyrosaurus superbus?'', before being named as a new taxon. The holotype specimen is Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, MACN-CH 1317, which consists of an incomplete posterior vertebral column, dorsal vertebra. Another specimen, the paratype MACN-CH 18689, consists of a cast of six articulated caudal vertebrae, the partial sacrum, and a fragmentary pubic peduncle from the right ilium (bone), ilium. A nearly complete specimen referred to ''Epachthosaurus'', UNPSJB-PV 920, was recovered during field r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dreadnoughtus
''Dreadnoughtus'' is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur containing a single species, ''Dreadnoughtus schrani''. ''D. schrani'' is known from two partial skeletons discovered in Upper Cretaceous (Campanian to Maastrichtian; approximately 76–70 Ma) rocks of the Cerro Fortaleza Formation in Santa Cruz Province, Argentina. It is one of the largest terrestrial vertebrates known, with the immature type specimen measuring in total body length and weighing (the greatest mass of any land animal that can be calculated with reasonable certainty). ''D. schrani'' is known from more complete skeletons than any other gigantic titanosaurian. Drexel University paleontologist Kenneth Lacovara, who discovered the species, chose the name ''Dreadnoughtus'', which means “fears nothing", stating “I think it’s time the herbivores get their due for being the toughest creatures in an environment." Specifically, the name was inspired by the dreadnought, an extremely influential early 20t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ampelosaurus
''Ampelosaurus'' ( ; meaning "vine lizard") 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. Like most sauropods, it would have had a long neck and tail but it also carried armor in the form of osteoderms. In 2005, over 500 bones have been assigned to ''Ampelosaurus'' and additional material has been found since, including a partially articulated skeleton with skull, which makes it one of the best known dinosaurs in France. However, recent studies suggest that the type locality is not a monospecific titanosaur bone bed and that part of the bones attributed to ''Ampelosaurus'' probably belong to a second titanosaurian taxon. ''Ampelosaurus'' lived on what was the Ibero-Armorican Island, a landmass including much of present-day France and Iberian Peninsula. Histological ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choconsaurus
''Choconsaurus'' (" El Chocón lizard") is an extinct genus of herbivorous sauropod dinosaur belonging to the group Titanosauriformes, which lived in the area of present-day Argentina at the end of the Cretaceous. Discovery and naming The holotype (specimen MMCh-PV 44/10) was found in Villa El Chocón in Neuquén province, Argentina by Viviana Moro before 1996. Subsequent field campaigns carried out at Manuel Bustingorry's "Bustingorry II" site by the Ernesto Bachmann Paleontological Museum and the Museum of Geology and Paleontology of the National University of Comahue between 1996 and 2002 discovered more remains pertaining to ''Choconsaurus'', with several of the specimens described by Calvo (1999) under " Titanosauridae indet."; these field campaigns also recovered the holotype of '' Bustingorrytitan''.'''' In 2017, the species type ''Choconsaurus baileywillisi'' was named and described by Edith Simón, Leonardo Salgado and Jorge Orlando Calvo. The genus name refers to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bonatitan
''Bonatitan'' is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Allen Formation of Argentina. It was named in 2004. Description The type species is ''Bonatitan reigi'', first described by Martinelli and Forasiepi in 2004. The specific epithet honours Osvaldo Reig. The holotype, MACN-PV RN 821, originally included a braincase and caudal vertebrae as well as limb elements. However, Salgado et al. (2014) emended the holotype to include the braincase only, and treated other elements catalogued under MACN-PV RN 821 as belonging to separate individual based on size and relative proportions.Salgado L., Gallina P.A. and Paulina Carabajal A. 2014. "Redescription of ''Bonatitan reigi'' (Sauropoda: Titanosauria), from the Campanian–Maastrichtian of the Río Negro Province (Argentina)". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology 27(5): 525-548 The genus and species names honor the famous Argentine paleontologists José Fernando Bonaparte and Osvaldo Reig. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Borealosaurus
''Borealosaurus'' is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of northern China. The type species is ''Borealosaurus wimani'', which was named in 2004. Description The type and only species is ''Borealosaurus wimani'', based on fragmentary remains from the Sunjiawan Formation of Liaoning. The morphology of a mid-distal caudal vertebra was considered suggestive of a relationship with the Mongolian titanosaur ''Opisthocoelicaudia''. However, in their overview of Cretaceous sauropod remains from Central Asia, Averianov and Sues considered ''Borealosaurus'' a non-lithostrotian titanosaur due to the lack of procoely in the middle caudal vertebrae. It was described by Hailu, Qiang, Lamanna, Jinglu and Yinxiang, in 2004. It was named from Greek ' (the North wind) and (lizard), with its specific name being given in honor of Swedish paleontologist Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brasilotitan
''Brasilotitan'' (meaning "Brazil giant") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous (early Maastrichtian) Adamantina Formation of Brazil. The type species is ''Brasilotitan nemophagus''. ''Brasilotitan'' was a small titanosaur with a squared-off snout, and may be closely related to another Brazilian titanosaur, '' Uberabatitan''. Discovery and naming In 2000, William R. Nava collected the partial skeleton of a sauropod along a road in São Paulo state near Presidente Prudente city. In 2013, a team of researchers, including Nava and led by Elaine B. Machado, described the remains as a new genus and species of sauropod, ''Brasilotitan nemophagus''. The genus name refers to its discovery in Brazil and to the Titans of Greek mythology, and the species epithet combines the Greek words ''némos'' "pasture, wood" and ''phagos'' "to eat", in reference to its herbivorous diet. Fossil record Fossils of ''Brasilotitan nemophagus'' are known from the Adamantina Fo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Campylodoniscus
''Campylodoniscus'' is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Period of what is now Argentina. The type species was first named and described by Friedrich von Huene in 1929 as ''Campylodon ameghinoi'', the genus name meaning 'bent tooth', from Greek καμπυλος, 'bent' or 'curved' (as of a bow) and ὀδών meaning 'tooth'. The specific name honours Florentino Ameghino. In 1961 H. Haubold and O. Kuhn noted that the name was pre-occupied by a fish and renamed the genus into ''Campylodoniscus'', the diminutive.Haubold, H. & Kuhn, O., 1961, ''Lebensbilder und Evolution fossiler Saurier, Amphibien und Reptilien'', Wittenberg : Ziemsen The fossil remains of ''Campylodoniscus'' were found in the Bajo Barreal Formation and consist of a single jaw bone, the maxilla, holding seven teeth. ''Campylodoniscus'' dates to the Cenomanian (95 Ma). It is sometimes estimated as being around twenty meters in length. ''Campylodoniscus'' is probably a member of the T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ninth and longest geological period of the entire Phanerozoic. The name is derived from the Latin , 'chalk', which is abundant in the latter half of the period. It is usually abbreviated K, for its German translation . The Cretaceous was a period with a relatively warm climate, resulting in high Sea level#Local and eustatic, eustatic sea levels that created numerous shallow Inland sea (geology), inland seas. These oceans and seas were populated with now-extinct marine reptiles, ammonites, and rudists, while dinosaurs continued to dominate on land. The world was largely ice-free, although there is some evidence of brief periods of glaciation during the cooler first half, and forests extended to the poles. Many of the dominant taxonomic gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Daxiatitan
''Daxiatitan'' is a genus of sauropod dinosaur known from the Lower Cretaceous of Gansu, China. Its type and only species is ''Daxiatitan binglingi''. It is known from a single partial skeleton consisting of most of the neck and back vertebrae, two tail vertebrae, a shoulder blade, and a thigh bone. At the time of its discovery in 2008, ''Daxiatitan'' was regarded as potentially the largest known dinosaur from China. Taxonomy ''Daxiatitan'' and its type and only species ''Daxiatitan binglingi'' were named by You Hailu, Li Daqing, Zhou Lingqi, and Ji Qiang in 2008. The holotype of ''D. binglingi'', GSLTZP03-001, was collected from the Hekou Group, in Gansu Province, and consists of ten cervical, ten dorsal, and two caudal vertebrae, cervical and dorsal ribs, a haemal arch, a scapulocoracoid, and a femur. The genus name refers to the Daxia River, a tributary of the Yellow River that runs through the area where the type specimen was found, and the species name refers to Bingling ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dongyangosaurus
''Dongyangosaurus'' is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous. The only species is ''Dongyangosaurus sinensis'', from which only a single fragmentary skeleton is known, coming from the Zhejiang province of eastern China. It was described and named by Lü Junchang and colleagues. Like other sauropods, ''Dongyangosaurus'' would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore. Description The only skeleton (holotype DYM 04888) is stored in the Dongyang Museum (Dongyang, Zhejiang). It consists of ten dorsal vertebrae, the sacrum, two caudal vertebrae as well as the complete pelvis. The skeleton was found articulated. ''Dongyangosaurus'' was a midsized sauropod, measuring approximately 50 ft (15 m) in length and 15 ft (5 m) in height. The dorsal vertebrae were characterized by eye shaped pleurocoels and low bifurcated neural spines. The sacrum consisted of six fused sacral vertebrae, a feature unique to somphospondylans. The caudal vertebrae were amphi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
