New Evidence of Sauropod Dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic Period of Thailand

The oldest dinosaur assemblages of Thailand deposit in continental sedimentary rocks of the Nam Phong Formation. Not only Isanosaurus attavipatchi was discovered but at least two more species of basal sauropods were found. A partial skeleton from Phu Hin Tan locality refers to sauropod taxon A. It is different from Isanosaurus and shares some characteristics with basal sauropods in the Early Jurassic. The sauropod taxon B was found in Non Sra Ard locality. Base on postcranial skeleton, sauropod taxon B shares some characteristics of the family Vulcanodontidae. Moreover, several fragments of the sauropods specimen are also found in Pha Khok Wang Yang and Phu Noi localities. All of the evidences above indicate that there are a highly diversity of sauropods in the Nam Phong Formation. At least three sauropod species (including Isanosaurus) were found in the Nam Phong formation. The issue about the age of the Nam Phong has been debated for a long time between the Triassic and Jurassic age. All of sauropodomorphs, in this study, are more likely the Early Jurassic period dinosaurs than the Triassic period dinosaurs. And they have deposited in the upper part of Nam Phong Formation.     

炳灵大夏巨龙:中国早白垩世一新巨型蜥脚类恐龙

兰州—民和盆地位于中国西北横跨甘肃和青海两省的毗连地区,其中广泛发育出露良好下白垩统河口群。近年来,在该盆地东部的兰州盆地产出了一个前所未知的脊椎动物组合,其中以诸多的足印化石和世界已知最大牙齿的植食性恐龙——巨齿兰州龙(Lanzhousaurus magnidens)为代表,还包括一类宽臀的基干巨龙型类蜥脚类——刘家峡黄河巨龙(Huanghetitan liujiaxiaensis),以及许多其他尚未发表的恐龙、鱼类和龟类。本文报道在该地区河口群中所发现的第二种新的蜥脚类恐龙——炳灵大夏巨龙(新属新种)(Daxiatitan binglingi gen.et sp.nov.)。炳灵大夏巨龙的正型标本现存于甘肃省地矿局第三地质矿产勘查院古生物研究开发中心(兰州)。该标本包括最后的10枚颈椎,10枚背椎,2枚近端尾椎,部分颈肋和背肋,1枚脉弓,右肩胛骨,右乌喙骨和右股骨。估计其颈部长度为12.2m,整个身体长度为26m,使其成为中国乃至亚洲最大的恐龙之一。大夏巨龙是巨龙类的一个基干分子[其支干定义为:与盐龙(Saltasaurus)而不与腕龙(Brachiosaurus)更具亲缘关系的巨龙型类],其以如下特征区别于其他巨龙类分子:颈椎的前关节面后移;肩胛骨骨体的远缘与其长轴斜交;股骨远端髁相对于股骨体向背侧方倾斜10°,而且从远端看,该远端髁处于后内—前侧方向。大夏巨龙独特的股骨构造指示出一种强烈外撇的走步姿态。同时,这种姿态也得到了保存于刘家峡恐龙国家地质公园同一层位(河口群上段)的强烈外转的、宽间距的蜥脚类恐龙行迹的进一步佐证。炳灵大夏巨龙的发现丰富了兰州盆地脊椎动物组合,对研究巨龙类恐龙的起源和早期演化具有重要意义。     

中国西南攀西地区下侏罗统益门组蜥脚类足迹:分类学与潜在的造迹者

恐龙足迹和骨骼的记录往往出现在不同的地区。然而,一些地层显示了关系紧密的骨骼和足迹,它们都指向同一个来源。报道了来自四川省攀西地区会理县通安镇通保村下侏罗统益门组中上部的蜥脚类足迹(雷龙足迹Brontopodus),其地理和地层归属均与真蜥脚类的何氏通安龙极为接近。通保足迹与造迹者的关联是可能的,但目前还需要更多的证据。通保的雷龙足迹是攀西地区首次发现侏罗纪的蜥脚类足迹,这也表明,在早侏罗世,原始蜥脚类和基干蜥脚型类共存于中国西南地区。     

A diversified vertebrate ichnite fauna from the Feitianshan Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of southwestern Sichuan,China

The Bajiu tracksite exposed on a fine sandstone surface at the top of the Feitianshan Formation, close the contact with the overlying Xiaoba Formation, reveals a saurischian dominated ichnofauna consisting of four sauropod and at least eight theropod trackways. The sauropod trackways display a medium-wide gauge pattern characteristic of titanosauriforms, while the theropod trackways can be subdivided into two distinct morphotypes. One is similar to the ichnogenera Eubrontes and Megalosauripus, the other (cf. Dromaeopodus) appears to represent a functionally didactyl dromaeosaur where pedal digit II is represented only by an oval basal pad. A single swim track is possibly attributable to a turtle or crocodylian. Such sauropod-theropod dominated ichnofaunas are consistently typical of the red-bed tracksites in the region and useful for characterizing a fauna that is otherwise poorly known from body fossils. The stratigraphic position and late occurrence of the (typical Jurassic) Eubrontes-Megalosauripus morphotype is well known from other Cretaceous localities in China and seems to reflect a peculiarity in the theropod faunas of East Asia.     

Dongbeititan dongi, the First Sauropod Dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of Western Liaoning Province, China

We herein describe a partial postcranial skeleton of a sauropod dinosaur recovered from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group in the Beipiao area of western Liaoning Province, northeastern China. A suite of features it possesses, including the camellate internal structure of its presacral elements, the existence of pneumatocoels on the proximal ends of the dorsal ribs, and especially the medially deflected proximal portion of the femur, definitively establish the titanosauriform affinities of the specimen. It differs from other titanosauriforms in having a craniocaudally elongate coracoid with a squared cranioventral extreme and a long, smooth, and slightly convex acetabular edge of the pubis. It represents a new taxon, Dongbeititan dongi gen. et sp. nov. Comparative studies suggest that Dongbeititan is a basal titanosauriform, more derived than Euhelopus, Fusuisaurus, and Huanghetitan, but less derived than Gobititan and Jiutaisaurus. Dongbeititan represents the first sauropod dinosaur reported from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Group of western Liaoning Province.     

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.     

First record of dinosaur trackway from Tibet,China

Three sauropod trackways comprise eight tracks that resemble Brontopodus tracks have been found at the Morong track site in Changdu Prefecture, Tibet, China. These wide- (or sub-wide)-gauge tracks suggest that there was a large sauropod, possibly a member of Titanosauriformes, in Changdu Prefecture during the Early-Middle Jurassic. The sauropod fauna from Changdu Prefecture, Tibet not only has elements in common with the sauropod fauna from the Sichuan Basin, but may include more diverse faunal components.     

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.     

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。     

The first record of dinosaurs in the Dalmatian part (Croatia) of the Adriatic-Dinaric carbonate platform (ADCP)

The first discovery of dinosaur footprints on the Dalmatian part of the Adriatic-Dinaric carbonate platform (ADCP) is reported. They constitute the geologically youngest record of footprints on the ADCP. The trackbearing layer was formed in the intertidal environment and represents the final stage of a shallowing-upward cycle. Just below it, a heavy dinoturbated limestone layer can be observed. Microfacies analysis, incorporating evidence from benthic foraminifera and algae, indicates a Late Turonian–Early Coniacian age. The overall morphology and size of the footprints points to sauropod dinosaurs; they represent the largest forms recorded so far on the ADCP. This hints at a prolonged sauropod presence on the platform and to its Late Cretaceous connection to the continent rather than isolation.     

The structural preservation of a titanosaurid (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) vertebral ligament

Within the past decade exceptional preservation of original organic components have been reported from several dinosaurian families, including members of Sauropodomorpha. Here we document the partial preservation of a vertebral ligament in the dorsal and sacral series of a titanosaur. Unlike other cases of tissue preservation, this structure does not represent biomineralization of the original organic components. Histology, morphology, and comparative anatomy from extant taxa as well as the preferential placement on the vertebral column suggests that it represents the partial preservation of the nuchal ligament. While preservation of other sauropod connective tissues are known, this case represents the first reported non-biomineralized tissue from a sauropod. In consideration of the location and external and internal morphologies compared to modern vertebral ligaments, we believe this structure to be the micritic replacement of the original tissue via microbially-mediated processes. Along with the suggestive external morphology, internally we interpret some of the unusual structures to represent the remnants of the collagen and elastin fascicles that are strongly overprinted by a clotted, thrombolytic-like fabric recording microbial activity and deposition of micrite prior to lithification. In consideration of the interpreted depositional history, we theorize that post-deposition, bacteria deposited the micrite as a byproduct of metabolization. Subsequently, the recognition of this structure as a vertebral ligament, the largest of such thus documented, substantiates previous findings on the morphological attributes of sauropod vertebral ligaments.     

A New Basal Sauropod Dinosaur from the Lufeng Basin,Yunnan Province, Southwestern China

<正>A new dinosaur Chuxiongosaurus lufengensis gen.et sp.nov.is erected based on a nearly complete skull.The taxon is characterized by the lacrimal perpendicular to the ventral margin of the upper jaw,which is similar to that of Thecodontosaurus;a depression present on the dorsal profile of the snout behind the naris;the rostral profile of the maxilla slopes continuously towards the rostral tip;and the presence of 25 dentary teeth.It also displays prosauropod characters such as a relatively long skull,the slope of the maxillary rostral profile,and teeth that do not have basically constricted crowns.The new specimen is more basal than Anchisaurus and represents the first basal sauropod dinosaur from the Early Jurassic of China.     

New Data on Late Cretaceous Sauropods from the Bostobe Formation of the Northeastern Aral Sea Region (Kazakhstan)

Doklady Earth Sciences - The curved pencil-like sauropod teeth from the Bostobe Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Santonian–Campanian) of the Shakh-Shakh locality in Kazakhstan are referred to a...     

A New Sauropod, Gongxianosaurus, from the Lower Jurassic of Sichuan, China

The paper describes an early and primitive sauropod dinosaur, Gongxianosaurus shibeiensis (gen. et sp. nov.), from the Dongyuemiao Member of the Lower Jurassic Ziliujing Formation in Shibei Township, Gongxian County, Sichuan Province, China, which is one of the 5 dinosaur fossils discovered in Gongxian in 1997. Except the skull which is incomplete, the fossils are well preserved. It has some features of both sauropods and prosauropods. It is an intermediate type in the evolution of dinosaurs from prosauropods to sauropods and provides materials for the study of the origin and evolution of the sauropod dinosaur fauna. The discovery of this new sauropod furnishes a way for the stratigraphic correlation between the Early Jurassic Ziliujing Formation in the Sichuan basin and the Lower Jurassic Lufeng Formation in the Central Yunnan basin.     

河南汝阳地区-巨型蜥脚类恐龙股骨化石的发现及其地层学意义

报道了首次在河南省汝阳县发现的大型蜥脚类恐龙股骨化石。从股骨近端的大小来判断，该股骨的实际长度可能超过2m，应属于巨型蜥脚类恐龙的股骨无疑。虽然化石破碎，种属的归属存在一定的困难，但是它的发现无论从晰脚类恐龙的分布、演化还是从地层学上都具有重要意义。该恐龙股骨化石的发现，将该地区原认为属于古近系蟒川组的时代向前推至早白垩世晚期或晚白垩世早期，同时其下伏地层陈宅沟组也应划归白垩纪时期的沉积。     

The southernmost records of Rebbachisauridae (Sauropoda: Diplodocoidea), from early Late Cretaceous deposits in central Patagonia

We describe new and redescribe previously discovered sauropod dinosaur material from the Upper Cretaceous (middle Cenomanian–Turonian) Bajo Barreal Formation of south-central Chubut Province, central Patagonia, Argentina. The remains consist of associated and isolated axial skeletal elements recovered from three separate localities, and are herein assigned to the morphologically aberrant Rebbachisauridae clade. Several of the fossils exhibit osteological characters that were previously undocumented in rebbachisaurids, enhancing our understanding of the morphological diversity of this enigmatic sauropod group. In particular, the Bajo Barreal material demonstrates the occurrence within Rebbachisauridae of bifurcate neural spines in cervical vertebrae and well-developed, presumably pneumatic fossae in caudal vertebrae; among Diplodocoidea, these distinctive morphologies had previously been recognized only in flagellicaudatans. Furthermore, the Bajo Barreal fossils constitute the southernmost known occurrences of Diplodocoidea, adding to the globally sparse Late Cretaceous record of these sauropods and augmenting our knowledge of central Patagonian terrestrial vertebrate assemblages during this interval.     

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.     

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。     

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.