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Titanosaurian
Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) 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 long with a weight of —and the comparably-sized ''Argentinosaurus'' and ''Puertasaurus'' from the same region. The group's name alludes to the mythological Titans of ancient Greek mythology, via the type genus (now considered a ''nomen dubium)'' ''Titanosaurus''. Together with the brachiosaurids and relatives, titanosaurs make up the larger sauropod clade Titanosauriformes. Titanosaurs have long been a poorly-known group, and the relationships between titanosaur species are still not well-understood. Description Titanosauria have the largest 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 reaching in total body length and possessing 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." Discovery and study American palaeontologist Kenneth Lacovara discovered the remains in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adamantisaurus
''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. Like many titanosaurians, ''Adamantisaurus'' is incompletely known, making its exact relationships difficult to establish. However, similarities have been noted with '' Aeolosaurus'' and the Bauru Group titanosaurian formerly known as the "Peiropolis titanosaur", now called ''Trigonosaurus''. Description As ''Adamantisaurus mezzalirai'' is only known from the anterior portion of the tail, relatively little is known about the anatomy of this species. It was probably a medium-sized titanosaur. In 2010 Gregory S. Paul estimated it to be roughly 13 meters (43 ft) long and 5 tonnes (5.5 short tons) in weight . However, in 2020 Molina-Pérez and Larramendi gave a larger estimation of 18 meters ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Argyrosaurus
''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. Discovery and naming The type species, ''Argyrosaurus superbus'', was formally described by Richard Lydekker in 1893. The holotype specimen of ''Argyrosaurus superbus'' is a huge left forelimb, MLP 77-V-29-1. found at Chico River, a Campanian/Maastrichtian horizon in the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation. The material includes the humerus, ulna, radius, and all five metacarpals. Recent stratigraphic information from the Lago Colhue Huapi Formation has the area that the holotype was collected from being a more probable early late Maastrichtian age instead of early Coniacian. When discovered, the forelimb was apparently a part of a complete skeleton, however, during excavation the rest of the remains were completely destroyed. In the same publication, Lydekker assigned a partial left femur from Chubut Province, MLP 21, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Angolatitan
''Angolatitan'' (meaning "Angolan giant") is a genus of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous. It is also the first non-avian dinosaur discovered in Angola. The genus contains a single species, ''Angolatitan adamastor'', known from a partial right forelimb. ''Angolatitan'' was a relict form of its time; it was a Late Cretaceous basal titanosauriform, when more derived titanosaurs were far more common. Discovery and naming After the Angolan Civil War ended in 2002, the PaleoAngola project planned the first Angolan palaeontological expeditions since the 1960s. The first of these expeditions started in 2005 to explore Angola's fossil rich upper Cretaceous rocks, leading to the discovery of ''Angolatitan''. The discovery was made by Octávio Mateus on May the 25 near Iembe in the province of Bengo, and excavations were conducted during May and August 2006. ''Angolatitan'' was described by Octávio Mateus and colleagues in 2011. The generic name means "Angol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kaijutitan
''Kaijutitan'' (meaning "Kaiju titan" after the type of Japanese movie monsters) is a genus of basal titanosaur dinosaur from the Sierra Barrosa Formation from Neuquén Province in Argentina. The type and only species is ''Kaijutitan maui''. Discovery and naming ''Kaijutitan'' was discovered by a team of researchers from the Museo Municipal Argentino Urquiza and the Museo Provincial de Ciencias Naturales “Prof. Dr. Juan Olsacher" from a layer from the Sierra Barrosa Formation, in Cañadón Mistringa, about 9 km southwest of the city of Rincón de los Sauces, in Neuquen, Argentina. Description ''Kaijutitan'' is known from the holotype MAU-Pv-CM-522, stored at the Museo Municipal Argentino Urquiza, Paleontología de Vertebrados, Cañadón Mistringa, which is a partial skeleton preserving elements from several parts of the skeleton. It can be distinguished from other titanosaurians through the possession of unique traits: the width between the basal tuberosities is almost f ... [...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 am ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atacamatitan
''Atacamatitan'' (meaning "Atacama Desert titan") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs that lived in South America during the Late Cretaceous period. Discovery and naming In February 2000, with the purpose of looking for Mesozoic fossils in Chile, Chilean and Brazilian researchers established a preliminary expedition that was organized by the Chilean National Museum of Natural History and the National Museum of Brazil heading to Antofagasta Region. During the expedition, they discovered the deposits of the Tolar Formation, located about 150 km north of Calama town and 50 km east from El Abra copper mine. The deposits of this formation consists of well-stratified, red succession of breccias, conglomerates and sandstones. In July 2001, a second expedition was organized and with this, the excavation of the formation. The results ended on the discovery of the holotype of ''Atacamatitan'': SGO-PV-961. The fossil remains were found in an outcrop surface of 2 m² near C ... [...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 species, 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 Ancient Greek, Greek ' (the North wind) and (lizard), with its specific name being given in honor of Swedish people, Swedish Palaeontology, paleontologist Carl Wiman, who named the first Chinese dinosaur. Refe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andesaurus
''Andesaurus'' ( ; "Andes lizard") 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. History of discovery In 1991, paleontologists Jorge Orlando Calvo and José Fernando Bonaparte named ''Andesaurus'', which refers to the Andes and also includes the Greek word ''sauros'' ("lizard"), because of the proximity of this animal's remains to the Andes. ''Andesaurus'' fossils were found by Alejandro Delgado, after whom the single known species (''A. delgadoi'') is named. The only known material of ''Andesaurus'' is a partial skeleton consisting of a series of four vertebrae from the lower back, as well as 27 tail vertebrae, divided up into two series from separate parts of the tail. The vertebrae from the middle part of its tail had elongated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jiangshanosaurus
''Jiangshanosaurus'' is a genus of herbivorous titanosauriform sauropod dinosaur that lived in China approximately 92-88 million years ago, during the Turonian-Coniacian stage of the Late Cretaceous. Discovery and naming In 1977 and 1978 a sauropod skeleton was excavated by paleontologists Wei Feng, Wu Weitang and Kang Ximin in the Jinhua Formation of Lixian Village, Jiangshan county, in the eastern Chinese province of Zhejiang. The type and only named species, ''Jiangshanosaurus lixianensis'', was formally described by Tang Feng, Kang, Jin Xingsheng, Wei and Wu in 2001. The holotype, ZNM M1322, of ''J.lixianensis'' includes elements of the left shoulder, five back vertebrae, three tail vertebrae, the pubic bones, the ischia, and a left femur.Feng Tang, Xi-Min Kang, Xing-Sheng Jin, Feng Wei, Wei-Tang Wu (2001"A New Sauropod Dinosaur of Cretaceous From Jiangshan, Zhejiang Province"in: ''Vertebrata PalAsiatica.'' Bd. 39, Nr. 4, pp. 272–281. The genus name refers to Jiangsh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choconsaurus
''Choconsaurus'' 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 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.".Calvo, J.O. (1999). Dinosaurs and other vertebrates of the Lake Ezequiel Ramos Mexía Area, Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. ''National Museum Monographs'' 15: 13–45. In 2017, the species type ''Choconsaurus baileywillisi'' was named and described by Edith Simón, Leonardo Salgado and Jorge Orlando Calvo. The ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iuticosaurus
''Iuticosaurus'' (meaning "Jute lizard") 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. History and taxonomy In 1887 Richard Lydekker described two sauropod tail vertebrae found by William D. Fox near Brook Bay on Wight, BMNH R146a and BMNH 151, and referred them to the genus '' Ornithopsis'', despite indicating their similarity to '' Titanosaurus'' (noting them once as ''Titanosaurus'' species A and ''Titanosaurus'' species B), because the tail of ''Ornithopsis'' was unknown.Lydekker, R., 1887, "On certain dinosaurian vertebrae from the Cretaceous of India and the Isle of Wight", ''Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society of London'' 43: 157–160 On reading the paper to the Geological Society of London, Lydekker was criticised by Harry Govier Seeley and John ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
