Drusilasaura
| Drusilasaura | ||||||||||
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||
| Lower Cretaceous ( Campanium to Turonium ) | ||||||||||
| 83.6 to 89.7 million years | ||||||||||
| Locations | ||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Drusilasaura | ||||||||||
| Navarrete et al., 2011 | ||||||||||
| Art | ||||||||||
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Drusilasaura is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the group of titanosaur , during the Lower Cretaceous in South America lived. So far, only a single, very fragmentary skeleton is known, which comes from the Bajo Barreal Formation in Argentina . The remains include only four vertebrae, a sacral vertebra, a shoulder blade and fragments of ribs. Drusilasaura wasfirst scientifically described in 2011 with the only species Drusilasaura deseadensis .
features
Like all sauropods, it was a large, four-legged herbivore, whose habitus was characterized by a barrel-shaped trunk with columnar legs and a long neck and tail. Drusilasaura was a comparatively large representative of the Titanosauria.
As with all sauropods, the vertebrae are spared with internal cavities and external cavities that reduced their weight. Individual external cavities were separated from one another by thin, lamellar bone ridges - so-called laminae. The anatomy of these laminae is very variable in sauropods and is often used to delimit different species and genera. Drusilasaura can be distinguished from other genera by a unique combination of characteristics, most of which are found on the laminae of the dorsal and caudal vertebrae: For example, there are two robust spinodiapophyseal laminae on the anterior vertebrae - laminae that run from the transverse process to the spinous process ; between these two laminae was an elongated and deep cavity. In addition, the anterior dorsal vertebrae show a circumneural laminae that ran circularly around the posterior (posterior) exit of the vertebral hole.
Systematics
Drusilasaura is a member of the Titanosauria , the dominant group of sauropods during the Cretaceous Period. The internal systematics of this group is highly controversial. In the first description of Drusilasaura , César Navarrete and colleagues state that this genus can possibly be counted among the Lognkosauria , a group within the Titanosauria to which the genera Mendozasaurus and Futalognkosaurus are also assigned. This group of primal titanosaurs was suggested by researchers working with Jorge Calvo (2007).
Find and naming
The only find ( holotype , specimen numbers MPM-PV 2097/1 to 2097/19) comes from the top subformation of the Bajo Barreal Formation from the María Aike farm in the Argentine province of Santa Cruz . It was first scientifically described in 2011 by researchers working with César Navarrete . The name Drusilasaura honors Drusila Ortiz de Zárate from the family of the farm owners who helped with the excavation work. The second part of the species name, deseadensis , refers to the Río Deseado , in whose valley the fossils were found.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jorge O. Calvo , Juan D. Porfiri, Bernardo J. González Riga, Alexander WA Kellner: Anatomy of Futalognkosaurus dukei Calvo, Porfiri, González Riga, & Kellner, 2007 (Dinosauria, Titanosauridae) from the Neuquen Group, Late Cretaceous, Patagonia , Argentina. In: Arquivos do Museu Nacional. Vol. 65, No. 4, 2007, ISSN 0365-4508 , pp. 511-526, digitized version (PDF; 21.68 MB) ( Memento of the original from July 30, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
