A new sauropod titanosaur from the Plottier Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia (Argentina)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1344/105.000001648Keywords:
Titanosauria, Plottier Formation, Coniacian-Santonian, Late Cretaceous, Río Neuquén Subgroup, ArgentinaAbstract
This paper presents a new titanosaur sauropod, collected from levels of reddish clays assigned to the Plottier Formation (Coniacian-Santonian). The holotype of Petrobrasaurus puestohernandezi gen. et. sp. nov. is a disarticulated specimen, from which teeth, cervical, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, sternal plates, metacarpals, femora, tibia, a fragment of ilium, pubis, haemal arches, and cervical and dorsal ribs have been preserved. This period is of particular interest because it saw the definitive isolation of the vertebrate faunas of Patagonia, with the separation of South America from the rest of Gondwana, a process that had begun during the Early Cretaceous. Although some of the characters observed in Petrobrasaurus gen. nov. suggest a relationship with the South American clade Lognkosauria, this new sauropod is regarded as Titanosauria incertae sedis until a more profound analysis of the Titanosauria that in which it is included is undertaken.
References
Barco, J.L., Canudo, J.I., Cuenca-Bescós, G., 2006. Descripción de las vértebras cervicales de Galvesaurus herreroi Barco, Canudo, Cuenca-Bescós y Ruiz-Omeñaca, 2005 (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) del tránsito Jurásico-Cretácico en Galve (Teruel, Aragón, España). Revista Española de Paleontología, 21, 189-205.
Blakey, R., 2004. Global Plate Tectonics and Paleogeography http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~rcb7/120moll.jpg
Bonaparte, J.F., 1999. An armoured sauropod from the Aptian of northern Patagonia, Argentina. In: Tomida, Y., Rich, T.H., Vickers-Rich, P. (eds.). II Gondwanan Dinosaur Symposium. Tokyo, National Science Museum Monographs, Proceedings, 15, 1-12.
Bonaparte., J.F., Powell, J.E., 1980. A continental assemblage of tetrapods from the Upper Cretaceous of Northwestern Argentina (Sauropoda-Coelurosauria-Carnosauria-Aves). Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France, 139, 19-28.
Bonaparte, J.F., Coria, R.A., 1993. Un nuevo y gigantesco saurópodo titanosaurio de la Formación Río Limay (Albiano-Cenomaniano) de la Provincia del Neuquén, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 30, 271-282.
Bonaparte, J.F., González Riga, B., Apesteguía, S., 2006. Ligabuesaurus leanzai gen. et sp. nov. (Dinosauria, Sauropoda), a new titanosaur from the Lohan Cura Formation (Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) of Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. Cretaceous Research, 27, 364-376.
Borsuk-Bialynicka, M., 1977. A new camarasaurid sauropod Opisthocoelicaudia skarzynskii gen. n., sp. n. from the Upper Cretaceous of Mongolia. Palaeontologica Polonica, 37, 5-64.
Calvo, J.O., González Riga, B.J., 2003. Rinconsaurus caudamirus gen. et sp nov., a new titanosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Revista Geológica de Chile, 30, 333-353.
Calvo, J.O., Porfiri, J.D., González-Riga, J., Kellner, A.W.A., 2007a. A new cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem from Gondwana with the description of a new sauropod dinosaur. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, 79, 529-541.
Calvo, J.O., González Riga, B.J., Porfiri, J.A., 2007b. A new titanosaur sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. Arquivos do Museu Nacional, 65, 485-504.
Canudo, J.I., Barco, J.L., Pereda-Suberbiola, X., Ruiz-Omeñaca, J.I., Salgado, L., Torcida Fernández-Baldor, F., Gasulla, J.M., 2009a. What Iberian dinosaurs reveal about the bridge said to exist between Gondwana and Laurasia in the Early Cretaceous. Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France, 180, 5-11.
Canudo, J.I., Filippi, L., Salgado, L., Garrido, A., Cerda, I., García, R., Otero, A., 2009b. Dientes de terópodos asociados con una carcasa de saurópodo en el Cretácico Superior (Formación Plottier) de Rincón de los Sauces (Patagonia, Argentina). In: Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico Salense (C.A.S.) (ed.). Burgos, Actas de las IV Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su entorno, Sala de los infantes, 321-330.
Campos, D. de A., Kellner, A.W.A., Bertini, R.J., Santucci, R.M., 2005. On a titanosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) vertebral column from the Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. Arquivos do Museum Nacional, 63, 565-593.
Casal, G., Martínez, R., Luna, M., Sciutto, J.C., Lamanna, M., 2007. Aeolosaurus colpuehuapensis sp. nov. (Sauropoda, Titanosauria) de la Formación Bajo Barreal, Cretácico Superior de Argentina. Revista Brasileira de Paleontologia, 10, 53-62.
Cruz, C.E., Condat, E., Kozlowski, E., Manceda, R., 1989. Análisis estratigráfico secuencial del Grupo Neuquén (Cretácico superior) en el Valle del Río Grande, Provincia de Mendoza. Actas I Congreso Nacional de Exploración de Hidrocarburos, 2, 689-714.
Curry Rogers, K., Forster, C.A., 2001. The last of the dinosaur titans: a new sauropod from Madagascar. Nature, 412, 530-534.
Gasparini, Z., Salgado, L., Coria, R.A., 2007. Reptilian faunal succession in the Mesozoic of Patagonia. In: Gasparini, Z., Salgado, L., Coria, R.A. (eds.). Patagonian Mesozoic Reptiles. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 335-362.
Gheerbrant, E., Rage, J.C., 2006. Paleobiogeography of Africa: How distinct from Gondwana and Laurasia? Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 241, 224-246.
Gilmore, C.W., 1946. Reptilian fauna of the North Horn Formation of central Utah. United States Geological Survey Professional Paper, 210C, 1-52.
Gomani, E.M., 2005. Sauropod dinosaurs from the early Cretaceous of Malawi, Africa. Palaeontologia Electronica, 8, 1-37.
González Riga, B.J., 2003. A new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mendoza Province, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 40, 155-172.
González Riga, B.J., Previtera, E., Pirrone, C.A., 2009. Malarguesaurus florenciae gen. et sp. nov., a new titanosauriform (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Mendoza, Argentina. Cretaceous Research, 30(1), 135-148.
Holtz, T.R.Jr., Chapman, R.E., Lamanna, M.C., 2004. Mesozoic Biogeography of Dinosauria. In: Weishampel, D.B., Dodson, P., Osmóska, H. (eds.). The Dinosauria. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, University of California Press, Second edition, 627-642.
Jacobs, L.L., Winkler, D.A., Downs, W.R., Gomani, E.M., 1993. New material of an Early Cretaceous Titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur from Malawi. Palaeontology, 36, 523-534.
Kellner, A.W.A., de Azevedo, S.A.K., 1999. A new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. National Science Museum Monographs, 15, 111-142.
Leanza, H.A., Apesteguía, S., Novas, F.E., de la Fuente, M., 2004. Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research, 25, 61-87.
Legarreta, L., Gulisano, C.A., 1989. Análisis estratigráfico secuencial de la Cuenca Neuquina (Triásico superior - Terciario inferior). In: Chebli, G., Spalletti, L. (eds.). Cuencas Sedimentarias Argentinas. Instituto Superior de Correlación Geológica (INSUGEO), Serie Correlación Geológica, 6, 221-243.
Lehman, T.M., Coulson, A.B., 2002. A juvenile specimen of the sauropod dinosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis from the Upper Cretaceous of Big Bend National Park, Texas. Journal of Paleontology, 76, 156-172.
Lydekker, R., 1893. Contributions to the study of the fossil vertebrates of Argentina. I. The dinosaurs of Patagonia. Anales del Museo de La Plata, Paleontología, 2, 1-14.
Martinelli, A.G., Forasiepi, A.M., 2004. Late Cretaceous vertebrates from Bajo de Santa Rosa (Allen Formation), Rio Negro province, Argentina, with the description of a new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauridae). Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales, 6(nueva serie), 257-305.
Martínez, R.D., Giménez, O., Rodríguez, J., Luna, M., Lamanna, M.C., 2004. An articulated specimens of the basal titanosaurian (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) Epachthosaurus sciuttoi from the early late Cretaceous Bajo Barreal Formation of Chubut Province, Argentina. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 24, 107-120.
McIntosh, J.S., 1990. Sauropoda. In: Weishampel, D., Dobson, P., Osmolska, H. (eds.). The Dinosauria. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, University of California Press, 345-401.
Miall, A.D., 1996. The geology of fluvial deposits: sedimentary facies, basin analysis and petroleum geology. Berlin, Heidelberg, New York, London, Paris, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Springer-Verlag, 582pp.
Musacchio, E.A., Vallati, P., 2007. Late Cretaceous non marine microfossils of the Plottier Formation (Cretaceous) at Zampal, Argentina. In: Díaz-Martínez, E., Rábano, I. (eds.). 4th European Meeting on the Palaeontology and Stratigraphy of Latin America. Madrid, Instituto Geológico y Minero de España, Cuadernos del Museo Geominero, 8, 273-278.
Novas, F.E., 1996. Alvarezsauridae, Late Cretaceous maniraptorans from Patagonia and Mongolia. In: Novas, F.E., Molnar, R.E. (eds.). Proceedings of the Gondwanan Dinosaur Symposium. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum, 39, 675-702.
Novas, F.E., 1997. Anatomy of Patagonykus puertai (Theropoda, Avialae, Alvarezsauridae), from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 17(1), 137-166.
Novas, F.E., 1998. Megaraptor namunhuaquii, gen. et sp. nov., a large-clawed, Late Cretaceous theropod from Patagonia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 18, 4-9.
Novas, F.E., Pol, D., 2005. New evidence on deinonychosaurian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia. Nature, 433, 858-861.
Ostrom, J.H., McIntosh, J.S., 1966. Marsh’s dinosaurs. The collections from Como Bluff, New Haven, London, Yale University Press, 388pp.
Powell, J.E., 1992. Osteología de Saltasaurus loricatus (Sauropoda-Titanosauridae) del Cretácico Superior del Noroeste argentino. In: Sanz, J.L., Buscalioni, A.D. (eds.). Actas del segundo curso de paleontología en Cuenca. Los Dinosaurios y su entorno biótico. Instituto Juan Valdés, 166-230.
Ramos, V.A., 1981. Descripción Geológica de la Hoja 33c Los Chihuídos Norte, Provincia del Neuquén. Servicio Geológico Nacional, 182(Boletín), 1-103.
Salgado, L., Bonaparte, J.F., 2007. Sauropodomorpha. In: Gasparini, Z., Salgado, L., Coria, R.A. (eds.). Patagonian Mesozoic reptiles. Bloomington, Indiana University Press, 188-228.
Salgado, L., Coria, R., 1993. El género Aeolosaurus (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) en la Formación Allen (Campaniano - Maastrichtiano) de la Provincia de Río Negro, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 30, 119-128.
Salgado, L., Apesteguía, S., Heredia, S.E., 2005. A new specimen of Neuquensaurus australis, a Late Cretaceous saltasaurine titanosaur from North Patagonia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 25, 623-634.
Salgado, L., Coria, R.A., Calvo, J.O., 1997. Evolution of titanosaurid sauropods. I: Phylogenetic analysis based on the postcranial evidence. Ameghiniana, 34, 3-32.
Sampson, S.D., Witmer, L.M., Forster, C.A., Krause, D.W., O’Connor, P.M., Dodson, P., Ravoavy, F. 1998. Predatory Dinosaur Remains from Madagascar: Implications for the Cretaceous Biogeography of Gondwana. Science, 280, 1048-1051.
Santucci, R.M., Bertini, R.J., 2006. A new titanosaur from western Sao Paolo State, Upper Cretaceous Bauru Group, south-east Brazil. Palaeontology, 49, 59-66.
Sanz, J.L., Powell, J.E., Le Loeuff, J., Martínez, R., PeredaSuberbiola, X., 1999. Sauropod remains from the Upper Cretaceous of Laño (Northcentral Spain). Titanosaur phylogenetic relationships. Estudios del Museo de Ciencias Naturales de Álava, 14(Special number), 235-255.
Sereno, P., Wilson, J., Conrad, J. 2004. New dinosaurs link southern landmasses in the Mid-Cretaceous. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Biological Sciences (Series B), 271, 1325-1330.
Smith, J.B., Lamanna, M.C., Lacovara, K.J., Dodson, P., Smith, J.R., Poole, J.C., Giegengack, R., Attia, Y., 2001. A giant sauropod dinosaur from an Upper Cretaceous mangrove deposit in Egypt. Science, 292, 1704-1706.
Upchurch, P., 1998. The Phylogenetic Relationships of Sauropod Dinosaurs. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 124, 43-103.
Upchurch, P., 2008. Gondwanan break-up: legacies of a lost world? Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 23(4), 229-235.
Upchurch, P., Hunn, C.A., Norman, D.B., 2002. An analysis of dinosaurian biogeography: evidence for the existence of vicariance and dispersal patterns caused by geological events. Proceedings Royal Society of London, 269, 613-621.
Wilson, J.A., 2002. Sauropod dinosaur phylogeny: critique and cladistic analysis. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society,
, 215-275.
Wilson, J.A., Carrano, M.T., 1999. Titanosaurs and the origin of “wide-gauge” trackways: a biomechanical and systematic perspectives on sauropod locomotion. Paleobiology, 25, 252-267.
Wilson, J.A., Sereno, P.C., 1998. Early evolution and higherlevel phylogeny of sauropod dinosaurs. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 18(Supplement to number 2), 1-68.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright
Geologica Acta is the property of the UB, GEO3BCN, IDAEA and UAB. Geologica Acta must be cited for any partial or full reproduction. Papers are distributed under the Attribution-Share Alike Creative Commons License. This license allows anyone to reproduce and disseminate the content of the journal and even make derivative works crediting authorship and provenance and distributing possible derivative works under the same or an equivalent license.
Author Rights
Authors retain the copyright on their papers and are authorized to post them on their own web pages or institutional repositories. The copyright was retained by the journal from the year 2003 until 2009. In all cases, the complete citation and a link to the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) of the article must be included.
The authors can use excerpts or reproduce illustrations of their papers in other works without prior permission from Geologica Acta provided the source of the paper including the complete citation is fully acknowledged.
