Report of a giant titanosaur sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Neuquén Province, Argentina

Otero, Alejandro; Carballido, José Luis; Salgado, Leonardo; Garrido, Alberto C.

doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104754

Cited by 21 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Rebbachisaurids are represented in the Albian-Cenomanian of Brazil [177], and dominate Cenomanian-Turonian sauropod faunas across Argentina [178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185][186][187][188]. The latter deposits also preserve a variety of titanosaurs, including early branching forms, such as Andesaurus, Epachthosaurus and Sarmientosaurus, as well as lognkosaurians including Argentinosaurus [58,74,84,85,[189][190][191][192][193][194][195][196][197][198]. Post-Turonian Cretaceous strata in South America lack rebbachisaurids, with their sauropod faunas dominated by lithostrotian titanosaurs [199][200][201][202][203][204][205].…”

Section: The Berriasian-turonian Sauropod Body Fossil Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sauropod dinosaur teeth from the lower Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia and the global record of early titanosauriforms

et al. 2022

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The Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia, has produced several partial sauropod skeletons, but cranial remains—including teeth—remain rare. Herein, we present the first description of sauropod teeth from this formation, based on specimens from three separate sites. An isolated tooth and a dentary fragment from the Diamantinasaurus matildae type locality are considered to be referable to that titanosaurian taxon. A single tooth from the D. matildae referred specimen site is similarly regarded as being part of that individual. Seventeen teeth from a new site that are morphologically uniform, and similar to the teeth from the two Diamantinasaurus sites, are assigned to Diamantinasauria. All sauropod teeth recovered from the Winton Formation to date are compressed-cone-chisel-shaped, have low slenderness index values (2.00–2.88), are lingually curved at their apices, mesiodistally convex on their lingual surfaces, and lack prominent carinae and denticles. They are markedly different from the chisel-like teeth of derived titanosaurs, more closely resembling the teeth of early branching members of the titanosauriform radiation. This provides further support for a ‘basal’ titanosaurian position for Diamantinasauria. Scanning electron microscope microwear analysis of the wear facets of several teeth reveals more scratches than pits, implying that diamantinasaurians were mid-height (1–10 m) feeders. With a view to assessing the spatio-temporal distribution of sauropod tooth morphotypes before and after deposition of the Winton Formation, we provide a comprehensive continent-by-continent review of the early titanosauriform global record (Early to early Late Cretaceous). This indicates that throughout the Early–early Late Cretaceous, sauropod faunas transitioned from being quite diverse at higher phylogenetic levels and encompassing a range of tooth morphologies at the start of the Berriasian, to faunas comprising solely titanosaurs with limited dental variability by the end-Turonian. Furthermore, this review highlights the different ways in which this transition unfolded on each continent, including the earliest records of titanosaurs with narrow-crowned teeth on each continent.

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Section: The Berriasian-turonian Sauropod Body Fossil Recordmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sauropod dinosaur teeth from the lower Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia and the global record of early titanosauriforms

et al. 2022

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“…Instead, we can simply use limb-size alone as a way to compare the size of A. cooperensis to other sauropods globally. This is useful because A. cooperensis represents the first osteological evidence of a very large titanosaurian in Australia, of comparable size to taxa from other parts of the Gondwanan supercontinent ( Otero et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A new giant sauropod,Australotitan cooperensisgen. et sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia

Hocknull

Wilkinson

Lawrence

et al. 2021

PeerJ

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A new giant sauropod, Australotitan cooperensis gen. et sp. nov., represents the first record of dinosaurs from the southern-central Winton Formation of the Eromanga Basin, Australia. We estimate the type locality to be 270–300 m from the base of the Winton Formation and compare this to the semi-contemporaneous sauropod taxa, Diamantinasaurus matildae Hocknull et al., 2009, Wintonotitan wattsi Hocknull et al., 2009 and Savannasaurus elliottorum Poropat et al., 2016. The new titanosaurian is the largest dinosaur from Australia as represented by osteological remains and based on limb-size comparisons it reached a size similar to that of the giant titanosaurians from South America. Using 3-D surface scan models we compare features of the appendicular skeleton that differentiate Australotitan cooperensis gen. et sp. nov. as a new taxon. A key limitation to the study of sauropods is the inability to easily and directly compare specimens. Therefore, 3-D cybertypes have become a more standard way to undertake direct comparative assessments. Uncoloured, low resolution, and uncharacterized 3-D surface models can lead to misinterpretations, in particular identification of pre-, syn- and post-depositional distortion. We propose a method for identifying, documenting and illustrating these distortions directly onto the 3-D geometric surface of the models using a colour reference scheme. This new method is repeatable for researchers when observing and documenting specimens including taphonomic alterations and geometric differences. A detailed comparative and preliminary computational phylogenetic assessment supports a shared ancestry for all four Winton Formation taxa, albeit with limited statistical support. Palaeobiogeographical interpretations from these resultant phylogenetic hypotheses remain equivocal due to contrary Asian and South American relationships with the Australian taxa. Temporal and palaeoenvironmental differences between the northern and southern-central sauropod locations are considered to explain the taxonomic and morphological diversity of sauropods from the Winton Formation. Interpretations for this diversity are explored, including an eco-morphocline and/or chronocline across newly developed terrestrial environments as the basin fills.

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“…Sauropods were an emblematic clade of long‐necked dinosaurs that colonized all continents during the Jurassic and Cretaceous (Curry Rogers and Forster 2001; Cerda, Paulina Carabajal, et al, 2012; Ghilardi et al, 2016; Wiersma‐Weyand et al, 2021; Rigby et al, 2021; Díez Díaz, 2022; Mo et al, 2023). Some lineages attained giant sizes, evolving into the largest animals to ever inhabit terrestrial landscapes (Carballido et al, 2017; González Riga et al, 2016; Lacovara et al, 2014; Otero et al, 2021). One of the features that allowed the body enlargement was a structural decrease of density caused by the presence of a bird‐like air sac system (Perry et al, 2009; Sander et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The origin of an invasive air sac system in sauropodomorph dinosaurs

Aureliano

Ghilardi

Müller

et al. 2023

The Anatomical Record

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One of the most remarkable features in sauropod dinosaurs relates to their pneumatized skeletons permeated by a bird‐like air sac system. Many studies described the late evolution and diversification of this trait in mid to late Mesozoic forms but few focused on the origin of the invasive respiratory diverticula in sauropodomorphs. Fortunately, it is possible to solve this thanks to the boom of new species described in the last decade as well as the broad accessibility of new technologies. Here we analyze the unaysaurid sauropodomorph Macrocollum itaquii from the Late Triassic (early Norian) of southern Brazil using micro‐computed tomography. We describe the chronologically oldest and phylogenetically earliest unambiguous evidence of an invasive air sac system in a dinosaur. Surprisingly, this species presented a unique pattern of pneumatization in non‐sauropod sauropodomorphs, with pneumatic foramina in posterior cervical and anterior dorsal vertebrae. This suggests that patterns of pneumatization were not cladistically consistent prior to the arrival of Jurassic eusauropods. Additionally, we describe the protocamerae tissue, a new type of pneumatic tissue with properties of both camellae and camerae. This reverts the previous hypothesis which stated that the skeletal pneumatization first evolved into camarae, and derived into delicate trabecular arrangements. This tissue is evidence of thin camellate‐like tissue developing into larger chambers. Finally, Macrocollum is an example of the gradual evolution of skeletal tissues responding to the fastly specializing Respiratory System of saurischian dinosaurs.

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Report of a giant titanosaur sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous of Neuquén Province, Argentina

Cited by 21 publications

References 65 publications

Sauropod dinosaur teeth from the lower Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia and the global record of early titanosauriforms

Sauropod dinosaur teeth from the lower Upper Cretaceous Winton Formation of Queensland, Australia and the global record of early titanosauriforms

A new giant sauropod,Australotitan cooperensisgen. et sp. nov., from the mid-Cretaceous of Australia

The origin of an invasive air sac system in sauropodomorph dinosaurs

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