Gondwanatitan

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Gondwanatitan
Temporal range:
Ma
↓
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Clade: †Macronaria
Clade: †Titanosauria
Clade: †Lithostrotia
Genus: †Gondwanatitan
Kellner & de Azevedo, 1999
Species:
†G. faustoi
Binomial name
†Gondwanatitan faustoi
Kellner & de Azevedo, 1999

Gondwanatitan (meaning "giant from

mya). Like some other sauropods, Gondwanatitan was tall and ate tough shoots and leaves off of the tops of trees. G. faustoi's closest relative was Aeolosaurus
.

The type species is Gondwanatitan faustoi, formally described by Kellner and de Azevedo in 1999.

Etymology

Gondwanatitan means "Gondwana Titan", and is named after Gondwana, the supercontinent that the genus' South American range was once part of, and the Titans of classical Greek mythology. The type and only named species, G. faustoi, is a patronym honoring Dr. Fausto L. de Souza Cunha, a former curator at the Museu Nacional/UFRJ who led the excavation of the type specimen.[1]

Description

Gondwanatitan was a fairly small sauropod, only 7 meters (23 ft) long and weighing about 1 tonne (1.1 short tons).[2] It had relatively gracile limb bones.[1] The middle caudal vertebrae are distinctively "heart-shaped", which allows isolated caudal vertebrae to be easily distinguished from those of Aeolosaurus.[3]

The vertebrae from the middle part of its tail had elongated

centra.[4] Gondwanatitan had vertebral lateral fossae that resembled shallow depressions.[4] Fossae that similarly resemble shallow depressions are known from Saltasaurus, Alamosaurus, Malawisaurus, and Aeolosaurus.[4]
Its middle tail vertebrae's
neural spines are angled anteriorly when the vertebrae are aligned.[4] These vertebrae resemble those of Cedarosaurus, Venenosaurus, and Aeolosaurus.[4]

Classification

Gondwanatitan is a member of the clade

Aeolosauridae.[5] It is closely related to the genera Pitekunsaurus, Aeolosaurus, and Overosaurus.[6]

Provenance

The type specimen of Gondwanatitan faustoi was found in strata of the Adamantina Formation.[1] Other material assigned to the genus has been found in the Cambabe Formation.[5]

History

The type specimen of Gondwanatitan faustoi was discovered in 1983 on the farm of Yoshitoshi Myzobuchi in São Paulo, Brazil.[1] The specimen was excavated between 1984 and 1986, but preparation work on the specimen did not begin in earnest until 1997. It was finally described as a new genus and species in 1999. In 2001, G. faustoi was briefly transferred to the genus Aeolosaurus, making Gondwanatitan a junior synonym of that genus, but it has since been widely regarded as separate.[7][8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Kellner, Alexander W. A.; de Azevedo, Sergio A. K. (1999). "A new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil". National Science Museum Monographs. 15: 111–142.
  2. ^ Paul, G. S. (2010). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press.
  3. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3085.1.1
    .
  4. ^ a b c d e Tidwell, Virginia; Carpenter, Kenneth; Meyer, S. (2001). "New titanosauriform (Sauropoda) from the Poison Strip Member of the Cedar Mountain Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Utah". In Tanke, D. H.; Carpenter, Kenneth (eds.). Mesozoic Vertebrate Life. Indiana University Press. pp. 139–165.
  5. ^
    doi:10.4072/rbp.2004.3.04
    .
  6. PMID 25250458
    .
  7. doi:10.25249/0375-7536.2001313307314 (inactive 2024-04-25).{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of April 2024 (link
    )
  8. doi:10.4013/gaea.2011.71.03
    .

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gondwanatitan&oldid=1220727549"