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.     

记河南汝阳白垩纪一新的巨型晰脚类恐龙

记述了产自河南汝阳地区晚白垩世早期莽川组一新的巨型蜥脚类恐龙--巨型汝阳龙(新属新种):Ruyangosaurus giganteus gen.et sp.nov..它具有以下特征:神经棘低,缺少椎前关节突隔板,神经弓的侧面具有大的、不规则的三角形凹,前关节横突隔板前后伸展,胫骨粗壮,达127 cm等.汝阳龙的发现显示在晚白垩世早期蜥脚类恐龙发生的分异程度要比以前想象的高得多.     

记河南汝阳白垩纪一新的巨型蜥脚类恐龙

记述了产自河南汝阳地区晚白垩世早期莽川组一新的巨型蜥脚类恐龙——巨型汝阳龙（新属新种）：Ruyangosaurus giganteus gen. et sp. nov.。它具有以下特征：神经棘低,缺少椎前关节突隔板,神经弓的侧面具有大的、不规则的三角形凹,前关节横突隔板前后伸展,胫骨粗壮,达127cm等。汝阳龙的发现显示在晚白垩世早期蜥脚类恐龙发生的分异程度要比以前想象的高得多。     

A New Somphospondylan Sauropod (Dinosauria, Titanosauriformes) from the Late Cretaceous of Ganzhou, Jiangxi Province of Southern China

A new somphospondylan sauropod (Dinosauria, Titanosauriformes): Gannansaurus sinensis gen. et sp. nov. from the Late Cretaceous Nanxiong Formation of Ganzhou Basin, Jiangxi Province of southern China is erected based on one nearly complete dorsal vertebra and a mid-caudal vertebra. It is characterized by two centroprezygapophyseal lamina fossae; large, square-shaped concavity formed by centroprezygapophyseal lamina and dorsal margin of the centrum; large infraparapophyseal fossa; three openings present within the large lateral concavity, which occupy 65% length of the centrum; the posterior centroparapophyseal lamina (PCPL) and the anterior centroparapophyseal lamina (ACPL) weakly developed; the posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina (PCDL) separated by an infradiapophyseal fossa into two branches dorsally; parapophyseal and diapophyseal laminae cross to form "K" configuration. It shares some characters with the Early Cretaceous form-Euhelopus, indicating that it is more closely related to Euhelopus rather than to other titanosauriform sauropods. This means Gannansaurus may have a close phylogenetic relationship with Euhelopus.     

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.     

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.     

A New Eusauropod Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Guangxi Province, Southern China

<正>A new sauropod dinosaur,Liubangosaurus hei gen.et sp.nov.,is erected based on a specimen represented by five articulated middle-caudal dorsal vertebrae,which was discovered in the Lower Cretaceous Napai Formation of Guangxi Province,southern China.This new taxon is diagnosed by a unique combination of derived features:prezygapophysis closely contacts with parapophysis,with the prdl and prpl absent;presence of cavity on the dorsal surface of the diapophysis;neural spine very low,with its distal end level with that of diapophysis;distal end of the neural spine strongly expanded laterally to form a platform;marked fossa formed between the infradiapophyseal lamina and the parapophysis;broad,flat area of featureless bone on lateral surface of neural arch;vertically directed infradiapophyseal lamina expands or bifurcates ventrally to form a inverted "Y";highly positioned parapophyses large and tear-drop in shape.The discovery of this new taxon increases the diversity of sauropods in China during the Early Cretaceous.     

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.     

First occurrence of azhdarchoid pterosaurs in the Gault Formation (Lower Cretaceous,Albian) of England,United Kingdom with a brief review of Gault pterosaurs

Pterosaurs are a rare component of the Early Cretaceous (Albian) Gault Formation of southern England. The only named taxon reported, ‘Pterodactylus’ daviesii Owen, 1874, is widely regarded as a nomen dubium or as Pterodactyloidea incertae sedis, while most other material can be referred to Pterodactyloidea indet. Here we describe a fragmentary humerus and elongate mid-series cervical vertebra both from the Gault Formation of Kent, southeast England that can be referred to the edentulous pterodactyloid clade Azhdarchoidea. The cervical vertebra is identified as being from a non-tapejaromorph azhdarchoid on account of its reduced neural spine, a neural arch confluent with the centrum, a neural canal that is subsumed into the centrum and the lack of foramina on the lateral surfaces of the centrum. The humerus is referred to Azhdarchoidea on account of its sub-rectangular distal end.     

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.     

A Cretaceous calamity? The Hypsilophodon Bed of the Isle of Wight,southern England

Complete or near‐complete skeletons of the herbivorous dinosaur Hypsilophodon foxii occur frequently in a metre‐thick band of mudstone and sandstone in the Lower Cretaceous Wessex Formation of the Isle of Wight. The reasons for this accumulation have been the subject of some debate. This article examines new sedimentological clues that provide a plausible explanation for these dinosaurs’ demise.     

中国辽宁早白垩世义县组一新的伤齿龙类化石——柯氏辽宁猎龙(Liaoningvenator curriei gen. et sp. nov.)

本文描述了产自中国辽宁省北票市早白垩世义县组一新的伤齿龙类化石——柯氏辽宁猎龙(Liaoningvenator curriei gen. et sp. nov.)。它具有伤齿龙类以下特征: 数量众多且密集的上颌齿与下颌齿; 牙齿的齿冠与齿根之间显著收缩; 齿骨侧表面具有一沟, 营养孔位于该沟内; 远端尾椎背部的神经棘减弱为一个沟。它不同于其它伤齿龙类的特征主要为坐骨靴大, 侧面观近乎三角形, 坐骨闭孔突细长; 尾椎形态转变点位于第7尾椎。系统发育分析表明柯氏辽宁猎龙与短羽始中国羽龙(Eosinopteryx brevipenna)构成姊妹群, 位于同一分支内。它们具有如下共同特征: (1)上颌骨和下颌骨前面部分的牙齿前隆无锯齿; (2)颈肋较其相关节的椎体长; (3)肠骨前缘直。辽宁猎龙代表了辽西同等层位发现的第5个伤齿龙类。骨组织研究显示辽宁猎龙的骨骼已接近成熟, 死亡时至少4岁。它为该地区的基干伤齿龙类恐龙提供了新的解剖学信息, 并丰富了目前中国已知早白垩世伤齿龙类的多样性。     

A New Gigantic Sauropod Dinosaur with the Deepest Known Body Cavity from the Cretaceous of Asia

A new species of sauropod dinosaur Huanghetitan ruyangensis is erected based on the following characters： deepest body cavity with a dorsal rib reaching at least 2.93 m long, anterior caudal vertebrae with mushroom-shaped neural spines. Based on this new specimen of Huanghetitan found in the early Late Cretaceous Mangchuan Formation of Ruyang, Henan Province, the family Huanghetitanidae faro. nov. is proposed as a new rank to include only the genus Huanghetitan You et al. 2006. At present, Huanghetitan includes two species： H. liujiaxiaensis You et al., 2006 and H. ruyangensis sp. nov. The systematic relationships of Huanghetitan among sauropod dinosaurs are briefly discussed.     

Fossils Explained 83: Diversity of skull morphology in the Titanosauria

Titanosaurs were a globally distributed group of sauropod dinosaurs. They had diverse forms and a wide-gauge stance, with a few of their species reaching immense sizes, such as Argentinosaurus huinculensis and Patagotitan mayorum (reaching >35 m in length). There are about 100 valid titanosaur species known so far, but most of the originally described species are no longer valid, due to the incomplete nature of fossil materials. Our understanding of titanosaur skull morphology is based on very few incomplete fragmented cranial materials and findings of the complete skull are even rarer. Understanding the skull morphology of extinct animals helps palaeontologists make deductions of feeding mechanisms and also provide an idea about their appearance when they were alive. Diversity in titanosaur skull morphology is greater than that of any other sauropod clade, indicating diversity in feeding mechanism among these dinosaurs. Titanosaurs were the last surviving clade of sauropod dinosaurs, occupying nearly every ecological niche around the world during the Late Cretaceous, and resulting in a rich diversity in this group. This article highlights diversity in the basic structure of sauropods with special emphasis on titanosaur skull morphology.     

A New Titanosaurian Sauropod from Late Cretaceous of Nei Mongol, China

A specimen collected from the Upper Cretaceous Erlian Formation of Nei Mongol （Inner Mongolia）, China, represents a new genus and species of titanosaurian sauropod. The new taxon is named and described on the basis of the holotype and the only known specimen, which comprises several dorsal, sacral, and caudal vertebrae, several dorsal ribs, one anterior chevron, and much of the pelvis. Diagnostic features of the new species include a thick ridge extending down from the postzygapophysis on the lateral surface of the neural arch of the posterior dorsal vertebrae, a transversely oriented accessory lamina present between the anterior centroparapophyseal limina and the lateral centraprezygapophyseal lamina of the posterior dorsal vertebrae, long, anteroventrally directed caudal rib that bears two distinctive fossae on its posterior margin on the anterior caudal vertebrae and a prominent vertical ridge above the pubic peduncle on the medial surface of the ilium, among others. The ilium is pneumatic, a feature not common among non-avian dinosaurs. The new taxon has an unusual combination of primitive and derived character states. Preliminary character analysis shows a complex character distribution within the Titanosauriformes. Recent titanosauriform discoveries suggest that a significant radiation occurred in Asia early in the titanosauriform evolution.     

A new titanosaur (Dinosauria,Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Lo Hueco (Cuenca,Spain)

The upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain) has provided a set of well-preserved partial skeletons in anatomical connection or with a low dispersion of their skeletal elements. One partial skeleton is herein described and a new titanosaurian sauropod is established, Lohuecotitan pandafilandi. This titanosaur is diagnosed by eight autapomorphic features: dorsally and ventrally widened or bifurcated posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in anterior and middle dorsal vertebrae; short postspinal lamina with a transversely expanded distal end represented by smooth scars in the dorsal vertebrae; anteriormost caudals with the medial spinoprezygapophyseal and medial spinopostzygapophyseal laminae ventrally connected with the prespinal and postspinal laminae, respectively; anterior caudal neural spines with a dorsal projection of the prespinal and postspinal laminae; anterior caudal neural spines bears a “greek-cross”-like cross-section; middle caudal centra having two round and rough structures in the dorsal edge of the posterior articulation, which extends to the dorsal surface of the centrum; the articular ends of the rami of the haemal arches are divided in two articular surfaces; and tuberosity between the anterior and the lateral trochanter of the fibula. The herein performed phylogenetic analysis considered L. pandafilandi as a member of Lithostrotia more derived than Malawisaurus. The known palaeodiversity of the Late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican titanosaurs is increasing, and further analyses focused on this group will be necessary to better understand the evolutionary history of European titanosaurs and to clarify their relationships within Titanosauria.     

A new Brachiosauridae Sauropod dinosaur from the lower Cretaceous of Europe (Soria Province,Spain)

A new dinosaur sauropod from the Golmayo Formation (upper Hauterivian-lower Barremian) in Soria province (Spain) is described as Soriatitan golmayensis gen. et sp. nov. The new material consists of one tooth, three dorsal vertebrae with ribs, a partial sacrum, five caudal centra, two caudal vertebral spines, one chevron, a humerus, an ulna, a radius, two partial ilia, two ischia, a fragment of pubis, and a partial femur. Cladistic analysis identified the material as belonging to Brachiosaruidae within Titanosauriformes. Sauropod material from the Golmayo Formation shares a diagnostic feature with Abydosaurus, Cedarosaurus, Tastavinsaurus and Venenosaurus including anteriorly deflected anterior–middle caudal neural spines and with Cedarosaurus a proximodistally straight lateral margin between the proximal head and the shaft of the humerus. Eight characters are potential autapomorphies in the sauropod from Spain, including the presence of a large rectangular ventral ridge below the preacetabular process of the ilium, the same length of the pubic and ischiadic blades in the ischium, and two lateral ridges in the lateral area of the deltopectoral crest of the humerus. The presence of Early Cretaceous brachiosarids in both, North America and Europe, give support to the hypothesis of a connection between the tectonic plates of these continents at some point during the Early Cretaceous.     

The Wealden (non-marine Lower Cretaceous) of the Wessex Sub-basin,southern England

The Wealden Beds (non-marine Lower Cretaceous) of the Wessex Sub-basin, southern England, are exposed principally in coastal sections on the Isle of Wight and in Dorset. Geological Conservation Review sites within these strata have been extensively documented since the earliest days of geological enquiry in Great Britain. The succession is dominated by the alluvial Wessex Formation which demonstrates a broad east–west transition from meanderplain lithofacies to coarser-grained alluvial sediments, in relative proximity to the Cornubian source massif. The meanderplain sediments on the Isle of Wight are of international importance for their plant and animal fossils, the latter including many dinosaurs and their trackways. Upper Barremian transgression resulted in the spread of muddy lakes and coastal lagoons from the Weald Sub-basin into the eastern part of the Wessex Sub-basin, around or through the Purbeck–Isle of Wight structure. The resulting richly fossiliferous mudrock-dominated strata are now represented by the Vectis Formation on the Isle of Wight and in Swanage Bay, Dorset. The Geological Conservation Review sites in the Wessex Sub-basin are documented and interpreted, with particular reference to research history, chronostratigraphy, structural context, palaeoenvironments, palaeobiology and palaeoclimatology. New directions for research are proposed, as applicable.     

The axial skeleton of the titanosaur Lirainosaurus astibiae (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of Spain

Lirainosaurus astibiae was originally described by Sanz and collaborators in 1999 on the basis of a skull fragment, isolated teeth, several vertebrae (e.g. the holotypic anterior caudal vertebra) and appendicular bones from the Late Cretaceous of Laño (northern Spain). A review of all the vertebral remains, including new material (cervical, dorsal and caudal vertebrae, dorsal ribs, haemal arch), provides additional information about the axial skeleton of Lirainosaurus. A study of the laminae and fossae shows interesting variations in these structures in the axial series, especially concerning the prezygapophyses and diapophyses: e.g. the X-shaped morphology of the centroprezygapophyseal lamina only in the posterior dorsal vertebrae, and the division of the postzygodiapophyseal fossa into two fossae in the posterior dorsal vertebrae and the proximal caudal vertebrae. Two vertebral characters are here considered to be autapomorphic for L. astibiae: the presence of a lamina in the interzygapophyseal fossa in the most proximal caudal vertebrae (a postzygodiapophyseal lamina that separates the ventral postzygapophyseal centrodiapophyseal fossa and the dorsal postzygapophyseal spinodiapophyseal fossa), and the spinopostzygapophyseal structure not posteriorly projected in the posterior caudal vertebrae. The combination of characters present in the axial remains of Lirainosaurus astibiae supports the idea that it is a derived lithostrotian close to Saltasaurinae.     

First postcranial remains of Multituberculata (Allotheria,Mammalia) from Gondwana

Multituberculates (Allotheria) are generally regarded as the evolutionarily most successful and longest-lived (Middle Jurassic to late Eocene) clade of Mesozoic and early Paleogene mammals. Despite this “reputation” and the fact that the group is particularly well represented in both taxonomic diversity and relative abundance on Laurasian landmasses during the Cretaceous and Paleocene, multituberculates are exceedingly poorly represented on the southern supercontinent Gondwana. Previous records on Gondwanan landmasses have been based on fragmentary dental remains and all except the three most recently published (each represented by a single isolated tooth or fragment of tooth) have been disputed and allocated to either Haramiyida or Gondwanatheria. Furthermore, several previous records, disputed or not, are based on fragmentary dental remains of a type (plagiaulacoid) that has evolved independently several times in mammalian evolution.Here we place on record a multituberculate femur from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Maevarano Formation of the Mahajanga Basin, Madagascar. This specimen, although fragmentary as well, exhibits a number of features common to all multituberculate femora: neck cylindrical in cross section and set apart from shaft; greater trochanter prominent, extending proximally beyond head, inclined dorsally, and separated from neck by deep incisure; lesser trochanter prominent and protruding ventrally; posttrochanteric fossa present on ventral aspect, lateral to lesser trochanter; subtrochanteric tubercle present on dorsal aspect, distal to incisure between greater trochanter and neck; diaphysis straight, elliptical in cross section (slightly compressed dorsoventrally); and third trochanter absent. Three of these features (prominent, ventrally placed lesser trochanter; presence of posttrochanteric fossa; presence of subtrochanteric tubercle) are regarded as autapomorphies of Multituberculata. This specimen therefore not only independently and conclusively confirms the presence of the clade on Madagascar—previously based on a small molar fragment—but on the entire supercontinent as well.