Magyarosaurus

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Magyarosaurus
Size comparison to humans

Size comparison to humans

Temporal occurrence
Upper Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian )
69.9 to 66 million years
Locations
Systematics
Dinosaur (dinosauria)
Lizard dinosaur (Saurischia)
Sauropodomorpha
Sauropods (Sauropoda)
Titanosaurs (Titanosauria)
Magyarosaurus
Scientific name
Magyarosaurus
Huene , 1932

Magyarosaurus (from Hungarian : Magyar = " Hungarian ") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived at the end of the Upper Cretaceous (late Maastrichtian ). The fossils of this dinosaur were discovered in 1915 near Sânpetru (now part of Sântămăria-Orlea ) in western Romania (then part of the Kingdom of Hungary ).

description

The first description of the type species Magyarosaurus dacus was made in 1915 by Franz Nopcsa and was based on the discovery of two fossil vertebrae. However, Nopcsa assigned the fossil to the genus Titanosaurus . It was not until 1932, after further finds, that Titanosaurus dacus was first described as Magyarosaurus dacus , after Friedrich von Huene had three other species, Magyarosaurus transsylvanicus , Magyarosaurus hungaricus and Magyarosaurus sp. had named. The vertebrae looked more like these fossils than they did to those of the Titanosaurus .

Two later authors, McIntosh (1990) and Le Loeuff (1993), only considered the species Magyarosaurus dacus to be invalid.

anatomy

With a length of six and a height of two meters and a weight of an estimated one tonne Magyarosaurus was much smaller than most other sauropods and thus corresponded roughly to the Europaeaurus .

Perhaps its back was covered with an armor made of humped bones, which offered the animal protection from predators. Magyarosaurus was very similar in physique to Titanosaurus , but smaller. Magyarosaurus' tail was long and may have served as a weapon against small carnivores .

habitat

The small size of the Magyarosaurus could be due to an island dwarfing . During the Upper Cretaceous , today's Romania consisted of a group of islands. This would explain the dwarfish growth of the animals. By adapting to the resources of the limited habitat, these sauropods would actually have lost size over time. In addition, Magyarosaurus hardly had any predators on these islands. Other sauropods deterred their enemies mainly because of their enormous size.

species

  • Magyarosaurus (Titanosaurus) dacus Nopcsa , 1915
  • Magyarosaurus hungaricus Huene, 1932
  • Magyarosaurus transsylvanicus Huene, 1932

literature

  • 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, pp. 125-160, doi : 10.1017 / S1477201903001044 .
  • Helmut Werner: 1000 dinosaurs. (Giants of primeval times: dinosaurs, pterosaurs, marine reptiles and other primeval lizards). NGV, Cologne 2007, ISBN 978-3-625-11519-9 .

Web links

Commons : Magyarosaurus  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , p. 213, online .