Saurian Safari a Walk in the Jurassic Park
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Oldest Known Dinosaurian Nesting Site and Reproductive Biology of the Early Jurassic Sauropodomorph Massospondylus
Oldest known dinosaurian nesting site and reproductive biology of the Early Jurassic sauropodomorph Massospondylus Robert R. Reisza,1, David C. Evansb, Eric M. Robertsc, Hans-Dieter Suesd, and Adam M. Yatese aDepartment of Biology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada; bRoyal Ontario Museum, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada; cSchool of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, 4811 QLD, Australia; dDepartment of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013; and eBernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, Johannesburg, South Africa Edited by Steven M. Stanley, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, HI, and approved December 16, 2011 (received for review June 10, 2011) The extensive Early Jurassic continental strata of southern Africa clutches and recognition of the earliest known dinosaurian nesting have yielded an exceptional record of dinosaurs that includes complex at the Rooidraai locality. scores of partial to complete skeletons of the sauropodomorph Massospondylus, ranging from embryos to large adults. In 1976 an Results incomplete egg clutch including in ovo embryos of this dinosaur, Our work at the Rooidraai locality has yielded multiple in situ the oldest known example in the fossil record, was collected from clutches of eggs as well as fragmentary eggshell and bones, all from a road-cut talus, but its exact provenance was uncertain. An exca- a 2-m-thick interval of muddy siltstone 25 m from the top of the vation program at the site started in 2006 has yielded multiple in Lower Jurassic Upper Elliot Formation (“Stormberg Group,” situ egg clutches, documenting the oldest known dinosaurian Karoo Supergroup) (11). -
Re-Description of the Sauropod Dinosaur Amanzia (“Ornithopsis
Schwarz et al. Swiss J Geosci (2020) 113:2 https://doi.org/10.1186/s00015-020-00355-5 Swiss Journal of Geosciences ORIGINAL PAPER Open Access Re-description of the sauropod dinosaur Amanzia (“Ornithopsis/Cetiosauriscus”) greppini n. gen. and other vertebrate remains from the Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) Reuchenette Formation of Moutier, Switzerland Daniela Schwarz1* , Philip D. Mannion2 , Oliver Wings3 and Christian A. Meyer4 Abstract Dinosaur remains were discovered in the 1860’s in the Kimmeridgian (Late Jurassic) Reuchenette Formation of Moutier, northwestern Switzerland. In the 1920’s, these were identifed as a new species of sauropod, Ornithopsis greppini, before being reclassifed as a species of Cetiosauriscus (C. greppini), otherwise known from the type species (C. stewarti) from the late Middle Jurassic (Callovian) of the UK. The syntype of “C. greppini” consists of skeletal elements from all body regions, and at least four individuals of diferent sizes can be distinguished. Here we fully re-describe this material, and re-evaluate its taxonomy and systematic placement. The Moutier locality also yielded a theropod tooth, and fragmen- tary cranial and vertebral remains of a crocodylomorph, also re-described here. “C.” greppini is a small-sized (not more than 10 m long) non-neosauropod eusauropod. Cetiosauriscus stewarti and “C.” greppini difer from each other in: (1) size; (2) the neural spine morphology and diapophyseal laminae of the anterior caudal vertebrae; (3) the length-to-height proportion in the middle caudal vertebrae; (4) the presence or absence of ridges and crests on the middle caudal cen- tra; and (5) the shape and proportions of the coracoid, humerus, and femur. -
A Stable Isotopic Investigation of Resource Partitioning Among Neosauropod Dinosaurs of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation
A stable isotopic investigation of resource partitioning among neosauropod dinosaurs of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation Benjamin T. Breeden, III SID: 110305422 [email protected] GEOL394H University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Geology 29 April 2011 Advisors: Dr. Thomas R. Holtz1, Jr., Dr. Alan Jay Kaufman1, and Dr. Matthew T. Carrano2 1: University of Maryland, College Park, Department of Geology 2: National Museum of Natural History, Department of Paleobiology ABSTRACT For more than a century, morphological studies have been used to attempt to understand the partitioning of resources in the Morrison Fauna, particularly between members of the two major clades of neosauropod (long-necked, megaherbivorous) dinosaurs: Diplodocidae and Macronaria. While it is generally accepted that most macronarians fed 3-5m above the ground, the feeding habits of diplodocids are somewhat more enigmatic; it is not clear whether diplodocids fed higher or lower than macronarians. While many studies exploring sauropod resource portioning have focused on differences in the morphologies of the two groups, few have utilized geochemical evidence. Stable isotope geochemistry has become an increasingly common and reliable means of investigating paleoecological questions, and due to the resistance of tooth enamel to diagenetic alteration, fossil teeth can provide invaluable paleoecological and behavioral data that would be otherwise unobtainable. Studies in the Ituri Rainforest in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, have shown that stable isotope ratios measured in the teeth of herbivores reflect the heights at which these animals fed in the forest due to isotopic variation in plants with height caused by differences in humidity at the forest floor and the top of the forest exposed to the atmosphere. -
Redalyc.Angolatitan Adamastor, a New Sauropod Dinosaur and the First Record from Angola
Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências ISSN: 0001-3765 [email protected] Academia Brasileira de Ciências Brasil MATEUS, OCTÁVIO; JACOBS, LOUIS L.; SCHULP, ANNE S.; POLCYN, MICHAEL J.; TAVARES, TATIANA S.; BUTA NETO, ANDRÉ; MORAIS, MARIA LUÍSA; ANTUNES, MIGUEL T. Angolatitan adamastor, a new sauropod dinosaur and the first record from Angola Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências, vol. 83, núm. 1, marzo, 2011, pp. 221-233 Academia Brasileira de Ciências Rio de Janeiro, Brasil Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=32717681011 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative “main” — 2011/2/10 — 15:47 — page 221 — #1 Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (2011) 83(1): 221-233 (Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences) Printed version ISSN 0001-3765 / Online version ISSN 1678-2690 www.scielo.br/aabc Angolatitan adamastor, a new sauropod dinosaur and the first record from Angola , OCTÁVIO MATEUS1 2, LOUIS L. JACOBS3, ANNE S. SCHULP4, MICHAEL J. POLCYN3, TATIANA S. TAVARES5, ANDRÉ BUTA NETO5, MARIA LUÍSA MORAIS5 and MIGUEL T. ANTUNES6 1CICEGe, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal 2Museu da Lourinhã, Rua João Luis de Moura, 2530-157 Lourinhã, Portugal 3Huffington Department of Earth Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX, 75275, USA 4Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, de Bosquetplein 6-7, NL6211 KJ Maastricht, The Netherlands 5Geology Department, Universidade Agostinho Neto, Av. -
High European Sauropod Dinosaur Diversity During Jurassic–Cretaceous Transition in Riodeva (Teruel, Spain)
CORE Metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk Provided by RERO DOC Digital Library [Palaeontology, Vol. 52, Part 5, 2009, pp. 1009–1027] HIGH EUROPEAN SAUROPOD DINOSAUR DIVERSITY DURING JURASSIC–CRETACEOUS TRANSITION IN RIODEVA (TERUEL, SPAIN) by RAFAEL ROYO-TORRES*, ALBERTO COBOS*, LUIS LUQUE*, AINARA ABERASTURI*, , EDUARDO ESPI´LEZ*, IGNACIO FIERRO*, ANA GONZA´ LEZ*, LUIS MAMPEL* and LUIS ALCALA´ * *Fundacio´n Conjunto Paleontolo´gico de Teruel-Dino´polis. Avda. Sagunto s ⁄ n. E-44002 Teruel, Spain; e-mail: [email protected] Escuela Taller de Restauracio´n Paleontolo´gica II del Gobierno de Arago´n. Avda. Sagunto s ⁄ n. E-44002 Teruel, Spain Typescript received 13 December 2007; accepted in revised form 3 November 2008 Abstract: Up to now, more than 40 dinosaur sites have (CPT-1074) referring to the Diplodocidae clade. New been found in the latest Jurassic – earliest Cretaceous remains from the RD-28, RD-41 and RD-43 sites, of the sedimentary outcrops (Villar del Arzobispo Formation) of same age, among which there are caudal vertebrae, are Riodeva (Iberian Range, Spain). Those already excavated, assigned to Macronaria. New sauropod footprints from the as well as other findings, provide a large and diverse Villar del Arzobispo Formation complete the extraordinary number of sauropod remains, suggesting a great diversity sauropod record coming to light in the area. The inclusion for this group in the Iberian Peninsula during this time. of other sauropods from different contemporaneous expo- Vertebrae and ischial remains from Riodevan site RD-13 sures in Teruel within the Turiasauria clade adds new evi- are assigned to Turiasaurus riodevensis (a species described dence of a great diversity of sauropods in Iberia during in RD-10, Barrihonda site), which is part of the the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition. -
Octavio Mateus
Foster, J.R. and Lucas, S. G., eds., 2006, Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36. 223 LATE JURASSIC DINOSAURS FROM THE MORRISON FORMATION (USA), THE LOURINHÃ AND ALCOBAÇA FORMATIONS (PORTUGAL), AND THE TENDAGURU BEDS (TANZANIA): A COMPARISON OCTÁVIO MATEUS Museu da Lourinhã, Rua João Luis de Moura, 2530-157 Lourinhã, Portugal. Phone: +351.261 413 995; Fax: +351.261 423 887; Email: [email protected]; and Centro de Estudos Geológicos, FCT, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal Abstract—The Lourinhã and Alcobaça formations (in Portugal), Morrison Formation (in North America) and Tendaguru Beds (in Tanzania) are compared. These three Late Jurassic areas, dated as Kimmeridgian to Tithonian are similar paleoenvironmentally and faunally. Four dinosaur genera are shared between Portugal and the Morrison (Allosaurus, Torvosaurus, Ceratosaurus and Apatosaurus), as well as all non-avian dinosaur families. Episodic dis- persal occurred until at least the Late Jurassic. The Portuguese dinosaurs did not developed dwarfism and are as large as Morrison and Tendaguru dinosaurs. Resumo em português—São comparadas as Formações de Lourinhã e Alcobaça (em Portugal), Formação de Morrison (na América do Norte) e as Tendaguru Beds (na Tanzânia). Estas três áreas do Jurássico Superior (Kimmeridgiano/ Titoniano) têm muitas semelhanças relativamente aos paleoambientes. Quatro géneros de dinossauros são comuns a Portugal e Morrison (Allosaurus, Torvosaurus, Ceratosaurus e Apatosaurus), assim como todas as famílias de dinossauros não-avianos. Episódios migratórios ocorreram pelo menos até ao Jurássico Superior. Os dinossauros de Portugal não desenvolveram nanismo e eram tão grandes como os dinossauros de Morrison e Tendaguru. -
A New Middle Jurassic Diplodocoid Suggests an Earlier Dispersal and Diversification of Sauropod Dinosaurs
ARTICLE DOI: 10.1038/s41467-018-05128-1 OPEN A new Middle Jurassic diplodocoid suggests an earlier dispersal and diversification of sauropod dinosaurs Xing Xu1, Paul Upchurch2, Philip D. Mannion 3, Paul M. Barrett 4, Omar R. Regalado-Fernandez 2, Jinyou Mo5, Jinfu Ma6 & Hongan Liu7 1234567890():,; The fragmentation of the supercontinent Pangaea has been suggested to have had a profound impact on Mesozoic terrestrial vertebrate distributions. One current paradigm is that geo- graphic isolation produced an endemic biota in East Asia during the Jurassic, while simul- taneously preventing diplodocoid sauropod dinosaurs and several other tetrapod groups from reaching this region. Here we report the discovery of the earliest diplodocoid, and the first from East Asia, to our knowledge, based on fossil material comprising multiple individuals and most parts of the skeleton of an early Middle Jurassic dicraeosaurid. The new discovery challenges conventional biogeographical ideas, and suggests that dispersal into East Asia occurred much earlier than expected. Moreover, the age of this new taxon indicates that many advanced sauropod lineages originated at least 15 million years earlier than previously realised, achieving a global distribution while Pangaea was still a coherent landmass. 1 Key Laboratory of Evolutionary Systematics of Vertebrates, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology & Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 100044 Beijing, China. 2 Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK. 3 Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London SW7 2AZ, UK. 4 Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. 5 Natural History Museum of Guangxi, 530012 Nanning, Guangxi, China. -
Dinosaurs of Portugal Dinosaures Du Portugal
C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 77–95 Systematic Palaeontology / Paléontologie systématique (Vertebrate Palaeontology / Paléontologie des Vertébrés) Dinosaurs of Portugal Dinosaures du Portugal Miguel Telles Antunes a,b,c,d, Octávio Mateus c,d,* a Academia de Ciências de Lisboa, Portugal b European Academy of Sciences and Humanities, 60, rue Monsieur-le-Prince, 75006 Paris, France c Centro de Estudos Geológicos, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia (UNL)/Quinta da Torre, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal d GEAL - Museu da Lourinhã, 2530 Lourinhã, Portugal Accepted 6 January 2003 Written on invitation of the Editorial Board Abstract A synthesis on the state of art on dinosaur knowledge in Portugal is presented. The following genera have been recognized: Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus, Lourinhanosaurus, Allosaurus, cf. Compsognathus, Stokesosaurus, cf. Richardoestesia, cf. Archaeopteryx, Euronychodon, cf. Paronychodon, Dinheirosaurus, Lourinhasaurus, Lusotitan, cf. Pleurocoelus, Lusitanosau- rus, Dacentrurus, Dracopelta, Phyllodon, Hypsilophodon, Alocodon, Trimucrodon, Draconyx, Iguanodon, and Taveirosaurus. Most are from Late Jurassic localities at the Lourinhã area and Guimarota. A new genus, Lusotitan, is here raised to include the Late Jurassic ‘Brachiosaurus’atalaiensis. Lower Cretaceous until Cenomanian material is scarce, except for dinosaur footprints. An interesting Late-Cretaceous, mostly small dinosaur association has been collected between Aveiro and Taveiro. To cite this article: M.T. Antunes, O. Mateus, C. R. Palevol 2 (2003) 77–95. © 2003 Éditions scientifiques et médicales Elsevier SAS. All rights reserved. Résumé On présente une synthèse concernant l’état actuel des connaissances sur les dinosaures du Portugal. Les genres suivants ont été reconnus : Ceratosaurus, Torvosaurus, Lourinhanosaurus, Allosaurus, cf. Compsognathus, Stokesosaurus, cf. Richardoes- tesia, cf. Archaeopteryx, Euronychodon, cf. Paronychodon, Dinheirosaurus, Lourinhasaurus, Lusotitan, cf. -
Body-Size Evolution in the Dinosauria
8 Body-Size Evolution in the Dinosauria Matthew T. Carrano Introduction The evolution of body size and its influence on organismal biology have received scientific attention since the earliest decades of evolutionary study (e.g., Cope, 1887, 1896; Thompson, 1917). Both paleontologists and neontologists have attempted to determine correlations between body size and numerous aspects of life history, with the ultimate goal of docu- menting both the predictive and causal connections involved (LaBarbera, 1986, 1989). These studies have generated an appreciation for the thor- oughgoing interrelationships between body size and nearly every sig- nificant facet of organismal biology, including metabolism (Lindstedt & Calder, 1981; Schmidt-Nielsen, 1984; McNab, 1989), population ecology (Damuth, 1981; Juanes, 1986; Gittleman & Purvis, 1998), locomotion (Mc- Mahon, 1975; Biewener, 1989; Alexander, 1996), and reproduction (Alex- ander, 1996). An enduring focus of these studies has been Cope’s Rule, the notion that body size tends to increase over time within lineages (Kurtén, 1953; Stanley, 1973; Polly, 1998). Such an observation has been made regarding many different clades but has been examined specifically in only a few (MacFadden, 1986; Arnold et al., 1995; Jablonski, 1996, 1997; Trammer & Kaim, 1997, 1999; Alroy, 1998). The discordant results of such analyses have underscored two points: (1) Cope’s Rule does not apply universally to all groups; and (2) even when present, size increases in different clades may reflect very different underlying processes. Thus, the question, “does Cope’s Rule exist?” is better parsed into two questions: “to which groups does Cope’s Rule apply?” and “what process is responsible for it in each?” Several recent works (McShea, 1994, 2000; Jablonski, 1997; Alroy, 1998, 2000a, 2000b) have begun to address these more specific questions, attempting to quantify patterns of body-size evolution in a phylogenetic (rather than strictly temporal) context, as well as developing methods for interpreting the resultant patterns. -
Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan
Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan VOL. 32, NO. 11, PP. 189–243 APRIL 10, 2017 MOABOSAURUS UTAHENSIS, N. GEN., N. SP., A NEW SAUROPOD FROM THE EARLY CRETACEOUS (APTIAN) OF NORTH AMERICA BY BROOKS B. BRITT1, RODNEY D. SCHEETZ1, MICHAEL F. WHITING2, AND D. RAY WILHITE3 Abstract — The Early Cretaceous was a time of dramatic change for sauropod dinosaurs in North America. Between the Late Jurassic-aged Morrison Formation and overlying Early Cretaceous strata, there was a dramatic decline in sauropod diversity. Here, we describe a new sauropod that adds to the diversity of the Early Cretaceous, from strata that can be no older than the early Aptian, (125 Ma) some 25 million years younger than the Morrison Formation. Moabosaurus utahensis, n. gen., n. sp., is diagnosed in part by the following suite of charac- ters: axially thin ventral basioccipital with posteriorly sweeping basal tubera; low-spined cervical vertebrae with neural spines that range from shallowly notched on anterior cervical vertebrae to shallow, but widely notched on middle and some posterior cervical vertebrae; posterior cervical and anterior dorsal neural spines with extremely low, axially thin, laterally wide ridges at the level of the zygapophyses; some cervical ribs with bifid posterior shafts; anterior and posterior caudal vertebrae with strongly procoelous centra, middle caudal vertebrae with mildly procoelous centra, and distal caudal vertebrae with moderately-to-strongly procoelous centra. To determine the phylogenetic position of Moabosaurus we utilized three different datasets and performed four analyses. All results are in agreement that Moabosaurus is a neosauropod. The two most resolved trees indicate it is a macronarian, specifically a basal titanosauriform. -
First Symposium on European Dinosaurs
FIRST SYMPOSIUM ON EUROPEAN DINOSAURS Düsseldorf, 14-18 March 2000 .~ Programme and Abstracts Edited by Sven SACHS,Düsseldorf & Raymund WINDOLF, Visselhõvede 18 LATE JURASSIC DINOSAURS OF PORTUGAL Octávio MATEUS & Miguel TELLES ANTUNES Two mam Portuguese sites for Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian/Tithonian) dinosaurs are known: Lourinhã (70 Km North ofLisbon) and Guimarota (Leiria). In Portugal there are represented the main groups of dinosaurs for that time: Stegosauria, Hypsilophodontidae, Dryosauridae, Camptosauridae, Diplodocidae, Brachiosauridae, Ceratosauria, Spinosauroidea, and Carnosauria. Ankylosauria and Titanosauria have not been found, so faro A femur and tibia ascribed to cf. Ceratosaurus sp. have been recently found in the Kimmeridgian of Lourinhã are extremely similar to those found in Morrison and described byGILMORE. It may be ascribed to Ceratosauria due to 1) the presence of trochanteric she1f, 2) the not blade-shaped anterior trochanter, 3) the anteromedially projected femoral head, 4) the presence of a femoral intercondylar bridge, 5) deep sulcus along the lateral side of the crista tibiofibularis and 6) the fibular crest in the tibia is proximally placed; And ascribed to Ceratosauroidea (Neoceratosauria) due to the lack of the lateral longitudinal groove at the distal end of tibia that is synapomorphic of Coelophysidae ceratosaurs and to the femoral head that is projected anteromedialIy. A strong tibia was found and ascribed to cf. Torvosaurus sp. It has the highest tibial ratio (minimal circurnference/length: 47.0) described in the literature for theropod dinosaurs. Exc1uding the taxa assigned by dental material (as Dromaeosauridae, cf. Paronychodon sp., Hypsilophodon, and others), the list of Late Jurassic dinosaurs in Portugal is as folIows: THEROPODA: Lourinhanosaurus antunesi, Allosaurus fragilis, cf. -
Skeletons and Scares at Portugal's Dino Park 18 July 2018, by Bruno Cravo
Skeletons and scares at Portugal's dino park 18 July 2018, by Bruno Cravo discovered in the late 19th century. It already has a dinosaur museum and dinosaur statues in metal or resin can be seen on its roundabouts, while pavements are decorated with paintings of dinosaur footprints. "Lourinha is quite particular about its dinosaurs, so we should all enjoy" the new facility, Mateus said. Visitors to the park are greeted by the rearing neck of a giant model Supersaurus—one of the largest dinosaur genera—announcing a collection as impressive as anything else to be found in Europe. Portugal's Dino Park is a new theme park in one of the most fossil-rich regions in Europe Eyes popping in astonishment, his mouth hanging mutely open, seven-year-old Joel approaches the four-metre-high monster and stands nose-to-nose with one of the deadliest killing machines the world has ever known. The full-scale Tyrannosaurus rex is just one of the prehistoric highlights on display at Portugal's self- proclaimed "dinosaur capital", a new theme park in one of the most fossil-rich regions in Europe. Dino Park has 120 large-scale reproductions of 70 "We have 120 large-scale reproductions of 70 different species, says Simao Mateus, its scientific different species, spread over 10 hectares (24.7 director acres)," Simao Mateus, Dino Park's scientific director told AFP. Although only recently opened, the park sits in a Imported from Germany, the resin statues are part of Portugal long famous among dotted throughout a forest route guiding budding palaeontologists for its extraordinary array of palaeontologists through the eons when dinosaurs fossilised remains.