Building grade titanium

Building grade titanium
Temporal occurrence
	Upper Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian )
	69.9 to 66 million years
Locations
	Brazil , Minas Gerais ( Marília Formation );
Systematics
	Dinosaur (dinosauria)
	Lizard dinosaur (Saurischia)
	Sauropodomorpha
	Sauropoda
	Titanosaurs (Titanosauria)
	Building grade titanium
Scientific name
	Building grade titanium
	Kellner et al. , 2005
Art
	Building titanium britoi;

Baurutitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the group of Titanosauria from the late Upper Cretaceous (Upper Maastrichtian ) South America. So far only one series of caudal vertebrae is known, which was found in the layers of the Marília Formation ( Bauru Group ) in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais . The only type is Baurutitan britoi .

features

Like all sauropods, Baurutitan was a large, four-legged herbivore with a long neck and tail and a barrel-shaped body. The caudal vertebrae show different diagnostic features, the unique combination of these features serves to distinguish the genus from other genera. For example, the first caudal vertebra was convex on both sides. The spinous processes of the anterior caudal vertebrae were inclined backwards, while from the fifth caudal vertebrae they were more vertical. The genus can also be distinguished from other genera by two unique features ( autapomorphies ) on the vertebral arches : The first caudal vertebra shows a pointed, laterally oriented ridge that interrupts the spinoprezygapophyseal lamina. Furthermore, the spinoprezygapophyseal lamina was oriented anterolateral .

Systematics

The relationships of Baurutitan within the Titanosauria are unclear. The first descriptors around Alexander Kellner assigned the genus to the Titanosauridae . This family is considered invalid by many researchers because it is based on Titanosaurus as a nominotypical taxon , which, however, shows no diagnostic features. Baurutitan was neither one of the most original (basal) nor one of the most modern (derived) titanosaurs: unlike in original titanosaurs such as Andesaurus, the middle caudal vertebrae were strongly procoel, a derived feature. On the other hand, various features of the highly derived saltasaurins were missing , such as the anterior caudal vertebrae, which in saltasaurins are significantly wider than high. Baurutitan shows similarities with Aeolosaurus , Gondwanatitan and Alamosaurus .

Find, history of discovery and naming

The only previously known find comes from the Caieira quarry about two kilometers north of Peirópolis near Uberaba . Excavations took place in this quarry from 1949 to 1961 and, in addition to the remains of sauropods, brought out the remains of turtles, crocodiles, theropods , fish, invertebrates and plants. In the quarry are fine to medium grained sandstones from white to yellow color unlocked . These rocks belong to the Serra-da-Galga-Member, a stratum of the Marília Formation , which is dated to the most recent unit of the Upper Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian ). The Marília Formation is the top of the two formations in the Bauru Group .

The find ( holotype , specimen number MCT 1490-R) consists of the last sacral vertebra and a series of 18 caudal vertebrae, which were found articulated (in combination). These vertebrae are well preserved, almost undeformed and almost complete. The fossils are now kept in the Natural History Museum (Museu de Ciências da Terra) of the Departamento Nacional de Produção Mineral. Baurutitan was first described in 2005 by Alexander Kellner and colleagues . The name Baurutitan alludes to the Bauru group, the rock unit from which the fossils come. The ending titan is derived from the titans of Greek mythology . The epithet britoi honors Ignacio Aureliano Machado Brito, an important Brazilian paleontologist.

supporting documents

Main source

Alexander Wilhelm Armin Kellner, Diogenes de Almeida Campos, Marcelo NF Trotta: Description of a titanosaurid caudal series from the Bauru Group, Late Cretaceous of Brazil. In: Arquivos do Museu Nacional. Rio de Janeiro. Vol. 63, No. 3, 2005, ISSN 0365-4508 , pp. 529-564, online (PDF; 1.59 MB) .

Individual evidence

↑ Carlos Roberto A. Candeiro: Vertebrates of the Marilia Formation (Late Maastrichtian) from the Peirópolis Paleontological Site: Toward a Better Understanding. In: Earth Sciences Research Journal. Vol. 13, No. 1, 2009, ISSN 1794-6190 , pp. 6-15, online .
↑ Jeffrey A. Wilson, Paul Upchurch : A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (dinosauria - sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a "Gondwanan" distribution. In: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Vol. 1, No. 3, 2003, ISSN 1477-2019 , pp. 125-160, doi : 10.1017 / S1477201903001044 .

[1] Carlos Roberto A. Candeiro: Vertebrates of the Marilia Formation (Late Maastrichtian) from the Peirópolis Paleontological Site: Toward a Better Understanding. In: Earth Sciences Research Journal. Vol. 13, No. 1, 2009, ISSN 1794-6190 , pp. 6-15, online .

[titanosaurus-2] Jeffrey A. Wilson, Paul Upchurch : A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (dinosauria - sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a "Gondwanan" distribution. In: Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. Vol. 1, No. 3, 2003, ISSN 1477-2019 , pp. 125-160, doi : 10.1017 / S1477201903001044 .