Tangvayosaurus
| Tangvayosaurus | ||||||||||||
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Tail vertebrae of Tangvayosaurus hoffeti |
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Lower Cretaceous ( Aptium or Albium ) | ||||||||||||
| 126.3 to 100.5 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Tangvayosaurus | ||||||||||||
| Allain et al. , 1999 | ||||||||||||
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Tangvayosaurus was a sauropod dinosaur from the Titanosauria group thatlived inwhat is now Laos in the Early Cretaceous Period ( Aptium or Albium ).
This genus is known for two partial skeletons that come from the rock layers of the Grès-supérieurs formation in the province of Savannakhet . Tangvayosaurus is estimated to be around 15 meters in length. The animal is named after the type locality Tang Vay in Laos , where the holotype was found .
Features and validity
The validity of Tangvayosaurus is still controversial, since all the genus-specific features ( autapomorphies ) listed by the first descriptors (Allain et al.) Were also present in other sauropods, especially other titanosaurs. So there is no unique selling point that would justify its own genus - but the genus is usually recognized because it differs significantly from Phuwiangosaurus , the only other titanosaur of the early Cretaceous Southeast Asia. So far, the relationships of Tangvayosaurus have not been investigated in more detail, but the animal is usually listed as a primitive titanosaur, as it is characterized by certain anatomical features such as a short, wide ischium and an absence of procoelic (on the front concave) caudal vertebrae.
So far only the species Tangvayosaurus hoffeti is known. Although Allain et al. Another species based on a complete and three incomplete femora ( thigh bones ) from Muong Phalane as Tangvayosaurus falloti , but this assignment is doubted because the femora do not have any unique features ( autapomorphies ), i.e. cannot be diagnosed. The femurs were previously ascribed to the Titanosaurus (as Titanosaurus falloti ).
Finds
Some of the skeletal finds were anatomically linked and come from the two sites Tang Vay 2 and Tang Vay 4. Today the fossils are kept in the Musée des Dinosaures in Savannakhet under the inventory numbers TV4-1 to TV4-36. The sedimentary rocks from which the bones originate are reddish siltstones and claystones that originate from fluvial deposits (river deposits).
In Tang Vay 2 38 caudal vertebrae, a cervical vertebrae, chevrons, a metacarpal bone, and various elements of the hind legs have been found, including the distal end of the femur , the tibia ( shin bone ), the fibula ( calf bone ), the Astragalus ( anklebone ), three metatarsal and nine toe bones. From Tang Vay 4 comes the complete right femur, pelvic bones (both pubis and both ischia), vertebrae (the first caudal vertebra, anterior vertebrae), ribs and the lower end of the humerus (humerus).
literature
- Ronan Allain, Philippe Taquet , Bernard Battail, Jean Dejax, Philippe Richir, Monette Véran, Franck Limon-Duparcmeur, Renaud Vacant, Octavio Mateus, Phouvong Sayarath, Bounxou Khenthavong, Sitha Phouyavong: Un nouveau genre de dinosaure sauropode de larieurs de larieurs des (Aptia-Albia) you Laos. In: Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences. Series 2, Fascicule A: Sciences de la Terre et des Planètes. Vol. 329, No. 8, 1999, ISSN 0764-4450 , pp. 609-616, doi : 10.1016 / S1251-8050 (00) 87218-3 , digital version (PDF; 640.17 KB) .
Individual evidence
- ^ Gregory S. Paul : The Princeton Field Guide To Dinosaurs. Princeton University Press, Princeton NJ et al. 2010, ISBN 978-0-691-13720-9 , p. 205, online .
- ↑ David B. Weishampel , Peter Dodson , Halszka Osmólska (eds.): The Dinosauria . 2nd edition. University of California Press, Berkeley CA et al. 2004, ISBN 0-520-24209-2 .
- ↑ 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 .
