A Late Cretaceous polar dinosaur fauna from New Zealand

New fossils of dinosaurs and pterosaurs have been found in the conglomeratic facies of the Maungataniwha Member of the Tahora Formation (Campanian) of New Zealand. These derive from a large theropod, a sauropod, an ankylosaur and a pterosaur. Together with previously described material they indicate at least five, maybe seven, taxa from the Late Cretaceous terrestrial fauna of New Zealand. At that time New Zealand was an island near Antarctica, so this represents an insular, polar fauna.We assume a vicariance model for the origin of this fauna, which probably samples that present in Antarctica at the time New Zealand rifted away from it. The fauna differs from other well known Cretaceous Gondwana faunas in including an ankylosaur, but is similar to that from the Late Early Cretaceous of Queensland, Australia. The inclusion of both an ankylosaur and sauropod lend a relict, Early Cretaceous aspect to the fauna. There seems to be no particular similarity to known polar faunas from the Early Cretaceous of Victoria, Australia, or the Late Cretaceous of Alaska and Antarctica.Dinosaurs, both large and small, were capable of surviving in the cool to cold-temperate, seasonal climate of New Zealand at this time.     

Additions to the sauropod dinosaur fauna of the Cenomanian (early Late Cretaceous) Kem Kem beds of Morocco: Palaeobiogeographical implications of the mid-Cretaceous African sauropod fossil record

Determining the relationships of mid-Late Cretaceous African taxa is central to understanding the timing and resultant palaeobiogeographical patterns of Gondwanan fragmentation. The early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) Kem Kem beds of southeastern Morocco preserve a diverse vertebrate fauna, including sauropod dinosaurs. Sauropod material includes the holotype of the rebbachisaurid diplodocoid Rebbachisaurus garasbae and fragmentary remains representing indeterminate titanosauriforms and rebbachisaurids. Here, we describe two new specimens from the Kem Kem beds. A dorsal neural arch with complex internal pneumaticity is tentatively attributed to a somphospondylan titanosauriform. A caudal vertebra possessing several rebbachisaurid synapomorphies is excavated by a large and pervasive lateral pneumatic foramen, a feature undocumented in other rebbachisaurids. However, caudal vertebrae are currently unknown for the sympatric R. garasbae, so this element could be referable to that taxon or a second, previously unknown, rebbachisaurid species. Interestingly, this new caudal vertebra displays a mosaic of features otherwise restricted to limaysaurine or nigersaurine rebbachisaurids, suggesting a placement basal to these clades, which is the position usually recovered for R. garasbae in phylogenetic analyses. A review of the mid-Cretaceous African sauropod fossil record removes the Cretaceous record of dicraeosaurids from Africa, restricting this clade to a single post-Jurassic occurrence in Argentina. All diagnostic sauropod remains can be attributed to titanosauriforms or rebbachisaurids. Whereas rebbachisaurids were seemingly restricted to northwestern Africa and disappeared post-Cenomanian, titanosauriforms were widespread across the African continent and survived until the latest Cretaceous. The development of the mid-Cretaceous Trans-Saharan Seaway might have acted as a dispersal barrier for rebbachisaurids and other vertebrate groups. In contrast, titanosauriforms might have been able to cross this barrier, but it is possible that they were also unable to disperse, and that northwestern African titanosauriforms were not closely related to taxa from the rest of the African continent. New materials and a better understanding of titanosaur interrelationships will be crucial in teasing these scenarios apart.     

山西新荣地区巨型蜥脚类恐龙股骨化石的发现及其埋藏环境

首次在山西新荣地区晚白垩世助马堡组发现了巨型蜥脚类恐龙股骨化石。通过详细观测该股骨化石的保存状态、保存长度和股骨近端最大长度,估算该股骨化石实际长度约1.9 m,该蜥脚类恐龙体长可能超过30.0 m。在对化石层沉积相和古流向分析的基础上,分析了该股骨化石的埋藏环境。助马堡组为一套规模大、弯曲度高、水动力强的曲流河沉积,该蜥脚类恐龙死后在曲流河中经短—中距离搬运后被埋藏。新荣地区巨型蜥脚类恐龙股骨化石的发现,不仅扩大了晚白垩世巨型蜥脚类恐龙在中国北方地区的分布范围,同时对左云—新荣地区白垩纪古气候和古环境的研究具有重要意义。     

山东诸城地区蜥脚类恐龙足迹研究

蜥脚类恐龙是中生代时期陆地上最大的动物,作为广泛分布于侏罗纪和白垩纪的一种进化十分成功的恐龙,蜥脚类足迹也是分布较广,从早侏罗世到晚白垩世的地层中都有发现。诸城地区南部皇龙沟莱阳群、北部张祝河湾及棠棣戈庄大盛群中发现了三处早白垩世时期数量不等的恐龙足迹化石,这三处化石点都发现了蜥脚类的恐龙足迹化石。诸城地区三处的蜥脚类恐龙足迹之间有什么异同呢?这些足迹的造迹者都属于同一种蜥脚类恐龙吗?本文在大量的数据统计基础上,根据前后足的面积比对蜥脚类足迹进行了初步分类,推测早白垩世早期的皇龙沟及早白垩世晚期的棠棣戈庄都至少生活有两种不同的蜥脚类恐龙,证实了蜥脚类群居生活的特性。对三处不同时期蜥脚类恐龙体型的对比总结出蜥脚类体型趋小化的演化趋势,并分析认为环境的变化是演化的动力机制。对白垩纪恐龙物种的更替,古环境变化等多方面问题进行了探讨。     

An anilioid snake from the Upper Cretaceous of northern Patagonia

We report the first record of anilioids from southern South America, a region where they do not live today. The fossils come from the Allen Formation (Late Campanian–Early Maastrichtian) at Bajo Trapalcó and Bajo de Santa Rosa localities, Río Negro province, Argentina. The remains consist of several vertebrae, most of which belong to the mid–posterior precloacal region of the column. Comparisons to other extant and extinct anilioid taxa indicate that these remains represent a new taxon, Australophis anilioides gen. et sp. nov. Australophis is morphologically closer to Palaeocene Hoffstetterella from Brazil and extant South American Anilius than to any other snake. These taxa might be closely related, in which case they would represent a lineage distinct from that including Cylindrophis and uropeltids. The two lineages must have diverged by the Late Cretaceous.     

冀西北尚义上侏罗统—下白垩统后城组恐龙足迹新发现及生物古地理意义*

简要报道了新近首次在冀西北张家口尚义地区发现的恐龙足迹。野外地质调查发现,恐龙足迹赋存于尚义晚中生代盆地侏罗系—白垩系后城组顶部。恐龙行迹呈近东西向展布,由数十个足迹构成。初步研究表明,造迹者分别属于兽脚类和蜥脚类恐龙,由西向东行进。足迹中包括兽脚类足迹70余个,组成数个行迹;蜥脚类足迹15个,构成1列行迹。蜥脚类足迹特征显示其可能属于游泳状的行迹。华北北部土城子组/后城组发育于燕辽生物群—热河生物群更替演化时期（晚侏罗世—早白垩世早期）,以往在该时期沉积物中罕见脊椎动物骨骼化石。近年来华北北部土城子组/后城组中频繁发现的恐龙足迹表明,燕辽生物群—热河生物群更替演化时期发育着以恐龙为代表的脊椎动物群。该发现将有助于进一步了解土城子组/后城组沉积时期恐龙属种的多样性及其生物古地理环境。晚侏罗世—早白垩世早期沉积古地理和古生态环境及其与恐龙动物群发育的研究有助于揭示陆地生物群更替演化和环境的关系。     

A new sauropod dinosaur (Dinosauria,Sauropoda) from the late Early Cretaceous of the Ruyang Basin (central China)

A new long-necked sauropod dinosaur, Yunmenglong ruyangensis gen. et sp. nov., is erected on the basis of an incomplete skeleton from the late Early Cretaceous Haoling Formation of the Ruyang Basin, Henan Province. The characters of the anterior cervical vertebrae, the shape of the neural canal of the dorsal vertebra and the ball-shaped distal end of the neural spine of caudal vertebrae with coarse surfaces differ from other long-necked sauropod dinosaurs. The new genus has characters in common with both Euhelopus and Erketu; it represents the first long-necked sauropod dinosaur recorded from central China to date. The rod-like, well-developed epipophyses and the pleurocoels on the cervical vertebrae indicate that it may be close to Euhelopus, an observation also confirmed by a phylogenetic analysis, which shows that Erketu, Yunmenglong and Qiaowanlong form a clade, and are more derived than Euhelopus.     

A New Sauropod Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Nanyang, Henan Province

A new sauropod dinosaur Baotianmansaurus henanensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Neixiang, Henan Province is erected. It is characterized by somphospondylous presacral vertebrae; a highly-developed lamina system on the dorsal vertebrae; transverse process supported by four laminae; and the dorsal portion of the anterior centroparapophyseai lamina is bifurcated, with a small branch extending to the ventral surface of the prezygapophysis. It represents a new titanosauriform sauropod.     

吉林九台白垩系一新的蜥脚类恐龙

记述了蜥脚类恐龙(Sauropoda)中一新的属种—西地九台龙(Jiutaisaurusxidiensisgen.etsp.nov.),包括18个相关节的尾椎及13个脉弧。化石产于吉林九台白垩纪泉头组的紫色-杂色砂岩中。其主要特征为:中部尾椎椎体两侧出现前后延长的棱脊,前-中部尾椎双凹型,神经弓位于椎体前半部,脉弧不分叉,血管孔长度约占脉弧长度的1/2以上。新属种的发现对进一步研究白垩纪蜥脚类恐龙的系统演化、古地理分布等提供了新的材料。     

A New Family of Sauropod Dinosaur from the Upper Cretaceous of Tianzhen, Shanxi Province, China

A new gigantic sauropod, Huabeisaurus allocates gen. et sp. nov., about 20 m in length and 5 m in height, was discovered in the Upper Cretaceous Huiquanpu Formation, Tianzhen County, Shanxi Province. It is notably different from Diplodocidae, Titanosauridae and Nemegtosauridae in the following aspects: the teeth are strong, peg-like with a length ratio of the tooth crown to tooth root at about 3 to 1; the cervical vertebrae are long with forked spines; the spines in dorsal vertebrae are relatively high, unbifiarcated; the caudal vertebrae are amphicoelous, with anterior neural spines and unbifurcated spines and chevrons; the femur is straight and long, narrow and flat and the tibia and fibula are long and flat. These characters show that the described genus should represent a new family, Huabeisauridae fam. nov. The discovery enriches the sauropod dinosaur record in China, and is quite significant to the study of the taxonomy, evolution, migration, extinction and palaeobiogeographic provincialism of the     

A New Sauropod Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Nanyang,Henan Province

A new sauropod dinosaur Baotianmansaurus henanensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Cretaceous Gaogou Formation of Neixiang, Henan Province is erected. It is characterized by somphospondylous presacral vertebrae; a highly-developed lamina system on the dorsal vertebrae; transverse process supported by four laminae; and the dorsal portion of the anterior centroparapophyseal lamina is bifurcated, with a small branch extending to the ventral surface of the prezygapophysis. It represents a new titanosauriform sauropod.     

Reassessment of the earliest documented stegosaurian fossils from Asia

In 1929, the famous Swedish palaeontologist Carl Wiman documented the first unequivocal stegosaurian dinosaur fossils from Asia. His material comprised an isolated dermal spine, together with a dorsal vertebra that was briefly described but never figured. Since then these remains have languished in obscurity, being noted in some stegosaur review articles but often ignored altogether. However, recent auditing of the Museum of Evolution palaeontological collection at Uppsala University in Sweden has led to the rediscovery of Wiman's original specimens, as well as two additional previously unrecognised stegosaurian dorsal vertebrae. All of these bones derive from the Lower Cretaceous (Berriasian–Valanginian) Mengyin Formation of Shandong Province in eastern China, and are morphologically compatible with the stratigraphically proximal stegosaurian taxon Wuerhosaurus from the Valanginian–Albian Tugulu Group in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of Western China. Wiman's seminal stegosaurian fossils thus expand current palaeobiogeographical distributions, and contribute to the otherwise enigmatic record of Early Cretaceous stegosaurian occurrences globally.     

河南汝阳盆地早白垩世晚期禽龙类化石的发现 及其地层学意义

记述了产自河南汝阳盆地早白垩世晚期相互关联的禽龙类9个中前部尾椎椎体化石。由于化石只保存不完整的尾椎部分,其属种难以断定。但它的发现说明,汝阳巨型蜥脚类恐龙动物群中,除了植食性的大型蜥脚类恐龙外,也存在大型鸟脚类恐龙——禽龙类。保存的尾椎椎体系列与发现于比利时的早白垩世贝尼萨尔禽龙相比,不论是大小还是形态构造上均极为相似,从而判断这9个连续的尾椎体分别为第7到第15尾椎。进而推断,河南汝阳盆地产出巨型蜥脚类恐龙动物群化石的沉积地层形成于早白垩世晚期。     

New materials of lithostrotian titanosaurs (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of central Patagonia

Continental Cretaceous deposits exposed in central Patagonia, Argentina, preserve a rich and important record of titanosaurian evolution that spans the entire Upper Cretaceous. Recently, a new lithostragraphic unit, the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation (Coniacian – Maastrichtian), was located in the Golfo San Jorge Basin. Here, we describe new titanosaurian sauropod material from that formation (UNPSJB-Pv 1051). The material consists of a partially articulated left hind limb and disarticulated but associated skeletal elements. They are confidently referred to Titanosauria, and within that clade, to Lithostrotia, probably occupying a derived position. We interpret the bone concentration as an assemblage of hydraulic origin deposited in a fluvial channel. This new material begins the incipient fossil record of the Lago Colhué Huapi Formation, thereby also increasing the titanosaurian diversity of the latest Cretaceous. Additionally, the new titanosaurian enhances evidence in support of strong faunal similarities among the Allen and Marilia formations, chronological equivalents in the Cretaceous of South America. Furthermore, the Lago Colhué Huapi specimen adds to the Late Cretaceous record of Titanosauria and augments our knowledge of central Patagonian terrestrial vertebrate assemblages during this interval.     

Amazonsaurus maranhensis gen. et sp. nov. (Sauropoda, Diplodocoidea) from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian–Albian) of Brazil

A new genus and species of an Aptian–Albian sauropod from the Itapecuru Formation, northern Brazil, Amazonsaurus maranhensis, is described. It is known from an incomplete, but diagnostic postcranial skeleton. The new taxon possesses several autapomorphies, such as the anterior caudal vertebrae with lateral laminae formed by the coalescence of the spinoprezygapophyseal and postzygodiapophyseal laminae and, to a lesser extent, of the postzygodiapophyseal laminae. It exhibits many synapomorphies supporting its inclusion in the Diplodocoidea. These include high caudal neural arches and anterior caudal neural arches with spinoprezygapophyseal laminae on the lateral aspect of the neural spine. This record is consistent with previous hypotheses on the existence of a community of Afro-South American dinosaurs.     

Dinosaur material from the Lower Greensand Group of Upware,Cambridgeshire, and the age of ‘Wealden’ vertebrates from the ‘Bedfordshire Straits’

Post-Wealden dinosaur remains are rare in the UK, so any material from late Early or Late Cretaceous deposits is potentially of palaeoecological and palaeobiogeographical significance. Four dinosaur specimens collected from the Woburn Sands Formation (Aptian) of Upware, Cambridgeshire were described briefly by Walter Keeping in 1883, but have not been reappraised since. These specimens are identified herein as a ?turiasaurian sauropod tooth and indeterminate iguanodontian ornithopod remains (a tooth, middle caudal vertebra, pollex ungual). Although collected from the Woburn Sands Formation, it is likely that all of these fossils were reworked from older (now absent) sediments and they have usually been regarded as either ‘Wealden’ or Neocomian in age, presumably due to previous identifications of some of these specimens as Iguanodon. However, consideration of UK dinosaur faunas and regional geology indicates that these fossils could potentially be older. Further work is needed on the derived terrestrial fossils of the Lower Greensand Group in order to constrain their ages more precisely so that they can be incorporated into broader studies of regional diversity and palaeoecology.     

A New Titanosauriform Sauropod from the Early Late Cretaceous of Dongyang, Zhejiang Province

A new titanosauriform sauropod Dongyangosaurus sinensis gen. et sp. nov. from the early Late Cretaceous of Dongyang County, Zhejiang Province, is erected based on a partial postcranial skeleton. It is characterized by complex laminae on the lateral surface of the neural spines and postzygapophyses of dorsal vertebrae, a distinct fossa on the ventral surfaces of the prezygapophyses of dorsal vertebrae, distinct fossae are also present on the lateral surface of the postzygapophysis of anterior caudal vertebrae; pubis is shorter than ischium, the small obturator foramen of pubis elongated, and nearly closed. The lamina complexity of dorsal vertebrae in Dongyangosaurus indicates that a higher diversity of titanosauriformes occurred during the early Late Cretaceous in China.     

New rebbachisaurid (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) material from the Wessex Formation (Barremian,Early Cretaceous), Isle of Wight,United Kingdom

Rebbachisauridae is a poorly understood clade of diplodocoid sauropod dinosaurs, currently known only from the Cretaceous of Africa, Europe and South America. European representatives are particularly rare and fragmentary. Here, we report an anterior caudal vertebra from the Barremian (Early Cretaceous) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. This specimen possesses several features known only in rebbachisaurids and shares two synapomorphies with the Afro-European taxa Demandasaurus darwini and Nigersaurus taqueti, both pertaining to the morphology of the neural spine. These features are the development of triangular lateral processes and the presence of an elliptical fossa on the lateral surface, bounded by the lateral lamina and postspinal rugosity. The Isle of Wight specimen also shares several features solely with Demandasaurus, indicating a close relationship with the Spanish taxon. These include the presence of a hyposphenal ridge, as well as an anteriorly excavated caudal rib that is restricted almost entirely to the neural arch. However, it differs from Demandasaurus in a number of ways, including the lack of excavation on the posterior surface of the caudal rib, the orientation of the neural spine, and the composition and morphology of the lateral lamina. In addition, the Isle of Wight vertebra possesses one potential autapomorphy: bifurcation of the elliptical fossa on the neural spine. However, because of the fragmentary nature of the material, a new name is not erected. Along with Demandasaurus and Histriasaurus boscarollii, this caudal vertebra indicates the presence of at least three European rebbachisaurid taxa and provides new anatomical information on this enigmatic clade of sauropod dinosaurs.     

New rebbachisaurid (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) material from the Wessex Formation (Barremian, Early Cretaceous), Isle of Wight, United Kingdom

Rebbachisauridae is a poorly understood clade of diplodocoid sauropod dinosaurs, currently known only from the Cretaceous of Africa, Europe and South America. European representatives are particularly rare and fragmentary. Here, we report an anterior caudal vertebra from the Barremian (Early Cretaceous) Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight, off the southern coast of England. This specimen possesses several features known only in rebbachisaurids and shares two synapomorphies with the Afro-European taxa Demandasaurus darwini and Nigersaurus taqueti, both pertaining to the morphology of the neural spine. These features are the development of triangular lateral processes and the presence of an elliptical fossa on the lateral surface, bounded by the lateral lamina and postspinal rugosity. The Isle of Wight specimen also shares several features solely with Demandasaurus, indicating a close relationship with the Spanish taxon. These include the presence of a hyposphenal ridge, as well as an anteriorly excavated caudal rib that is restricted almost entirely to the neural arch. However, it differs from Demandasaurus in a number of ways, including the lack of excavation on the posterior surface of the caudal rib, the orientation of the neural spine, and the composition and morphology of the lateral lamina. In addition, the Isle of Wight vertebra possesses one potential autapomorphy: bifurcation of the elliptical fossa on the neural spine. However, because of the fragmentary nature of the material, a new name is not erected. Along with Demandasaurus and Histriasaurus boscarollii, this caudal vertebra indicates the presence of at least three European rebbachisaurid taxa and provides new anatomical information on this enigmatic clade of sauropod dinosaurs.