Uberabatitan
| Uberabatitan | ||||||||||||
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| Temporal occurrence | ||||||||||||
| Upper Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian ) | ||||||||||||
| 72 to 66 million years | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Uberabatitan | ||||||||||||
| Salgado , Carvalho , 2008 | ||||||||||||
| Art | ||||||||||||
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Uberabatitan is a genus of sauropod dinosaurs belonging to the Titanosauria group from the late Upper Cretaceous South America. So far, three fragmentary skeletons are known that come from the Marília Formation in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais . Other titanosaurs in this formation include Trigonosaurus , Baurutitan and Aeolosaurus .
features
As with all sauropods, it was a herbivore with a long neck and tail. Compared to the contemporary Trigonosaurus and Baurutitan , Uberabatitan was relatively large and overall more robustly built. The genus can be achieved by various unique anatomical features ( autapomorphies ) distinguished from other genera: So that pubis (pubic) thick and sturdy and shows a squat anterior ridge. The upper (proximal) ends of the tibia (tibia) and the fibula (fibula) are provided via one lateral projection in connection. Most autapomorphies are found on the vertebrae: for example, the postzygodiapophyseal lamina of the anterior and middle cervical vertebrae was divided into two separate laminae; the vertebral centers of the middle caudal vertebrae also show deep lateral cavities.
Systematics
The relationships within the Titanosauria are unclear. So far, the genus has not been included in any phylogenetic analysis.
Find, taphonomy and naming
The bones were found in a quarry (location BR-050 B) near the city of Uberaba in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The rocks of the site belong to the upper section of the Serra da Galga member, a layer member of the Marília formation , which belongs to the Bauru group and is dated to the Maastrichtian .
The more than 60 individual bones were recovered between 2004 and 2008 and probably belong to three different individuals, indicating differences in size. The holotype specimen (specimen number CPP-UrHo) was smaller than Cpp-UrB, but larger than CPP-UrC. The bones were found within a sediment sequence 1.5 meters thick. Before they were deposited, the bones were probably transported a short distance by water, which is indicated by slight rounding and abrasion . The researchers interpret the discovery of three individuals of the same species in one place as a mass extinction that could have been triggered by one of the periodic droughts.
The findings include 15 cervical vertebrae, two dorsal vertebrae, one sacral vertebra, and vertebrae from different regions of the tail. The Appendikulärskelett is by a right breastbone (sternum), Raven legs (coracoids), humerus (humerus), spoke ( radius ), metacarpal bone (metacarpal), pubis (pubic), ischium (ischium), thigh bone (femur), tibia, fibula and represented by an ankle bone (astragalus). The fossils are kept in the Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas Lewellyn Price in Peirópolis .
Uberabatitan was first scientifically described in 2008 by Leonardo Salgado and Ismar de Souza Carvalho . The name refers to the city of Uberaba, around which the fossils were found. The ending titan refers to the titans of Greek mythology . The second part of the art name, ribeiroi , honors Luiz Carlos Borges Ribeiro, director of the Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas Lewellyn Price , which promotes paleontological research in Minas Gerais.
literature
- Leonardo Salgado , Ismar de Souza Carvalho: Uberabatitan ribeiroi, a new titanosaur from the Marília Formation (Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous), Minas Gerais, Brazil. In: Palaeontology. Vol. 51, No. 4, 2008, ISSN 1477-2019 , pp. 881-901, doi : 10.1111 / j.1475-4983.2008.00781.x .