The Appendicular Osteology of<i>Patagotitan Mayorum</i>(Dinosauria, Sauropoda)

Otero, Alejandro; Carballido, José Luis; Moreno, Agustín Pérez

doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1793158

Cited by 20 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Albian-aged deposits in Argentina show some variation. Lower Albian deposits in Neuquén Province have yielded rebbachisaurids and non-titanosaurian somphospondylans including Ligabuesaurus [75,77,88,[172][173][174], whereas upper Albian deposits in Chubut Province have produced the lognkosaurian titanosaur Patagotitan [175,176], but no rebbachisaurids. 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].…”

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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“…The differences among robust hind limb titanosaurian morphologies may suggest that their convergence is due to other sources of variation (i.e., different biomechanical adaptations). It is also important to note that all the lithostrotian titanosaurs that exhibit a slightly rotated fibula, whether sigmoid or not, and extremely arched hind limb morphology independent of their size, exhibit femora with reduced fibular epicondyles (after Otero et al, 2020).…”

Section: Hind Limb Morphological Convergence In Titanosauriformesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D Geometric Morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism

Paramo Blazquez,

Mocho,

Escaso

et al. 2023

Preprint

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The sauropod hind limb is the main support that allowed their gigantic body masses and a wide range of dynamic stability adaptations. It is closely related with the position of the centre of masses of their multi-toned barrel-shaped bodies, and experiences one of the most noticeable posture changes along macronarian evolution. Deeply-branched macronaria achieve increasingly arched hind limbs in what it is known as wide-gauge posture. However, it is not clear if this evolutionary trend is related to the evolutionary cascade toward gigantism despite some titanosaurian were the largest terrestrial vertebrates ever-existed. We tested through means of 3D geometric morphometrics for evolutionary changes in hind limb morphology along Macronaria phylogenetic tree. The macronarian hind limb does become progressively more arched toward deeply-branched Saltasauridae. However, there is morphological convergence between different subclades. Wide-gauge posture does not correlate with changes in body size deeper in the macronarian evolutionary tree, acting as exaptation to gigantism. Despite some titanosaurian subclades becoming some of the largest vertebrates, there is a phyletic body size decrease in Macronaria.

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“…Body mass estimation is a fraught exercise for fragmentary skeletons ( Bates et al, 2015 ; Bates et al, 2009 ; Bates et al, 2016 ; Campione & Evans, 2012 ; Campione & Evans, 2020 ; Paul, 2019 ). Recent body mass estimates of giant sauropods ( Carballido et al, 2017 ; Lacovara et al, 2014 ) using humeral and femoral circumferences ( Benson et al, 2014 ; Campione & Evans, 2012 ; Campione & Evans, 2020 ) have come under scrutiny and are shown to be implausible or inaccurate ( Bates et al, 2015 ; Otero, Carballido & Moreno, 2020 ; Paul, 2019 ). However, a recent review of these inaccuracies has suggested that the estimation methods themselves can be reconciled, albeit with reservations when dealing with particular groups of tetrapods, like giant sauropods ( Campione & Evans, 2020 ).…”

Section: Phylogenetic Assessmentmentioning

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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The Appendicular Osteology ofPatagotitan Mayorum(Dinosauria, Sauropoda)

Cited by 20 publications

References 75 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

Evolution of hind limb morphology of Titanosauriformes (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) analyzed via 3D Geometric Morphometrics reveals wide-gauge posture as an exaptation for gigantism

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

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