Neosauropoda

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Neosauropoda Fossil range: Jurassic - Cretaceous
Conservation status
Extinct (fossil)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Sauropsida Superorder: Dinosauria Order: Saurischia Suborder: Sauropodomorpha Infraorder: Sauropoda (unranked) Neosauropoda Bonaparte, 1986
Families
Brachiosauridae Camarasauridae Diplodocidae Dicraeosauridae Nemegtosauridae Rebbachisauridae Titanosauridae/Saltasauridae

Neosauropoda is a division-level clade of sauropods within Dinosauria, and consists of the group leading to Diplodocoidea and Macronaria. Haplocanthosaurus was a typical basal neosauropod from around 150 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic. Many later sauropods, including Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, and Brachiosaurus, were also neosauropods by definition.

The clade was originally coined by Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte in 1986. The current definition, established by American paleontologist Paul Sereno in 2005, is the clade including both Saltasaurus and Diplodocus, their most recent ancestor, and all descendants.

[edit] Phylogeny

From Upchurch et al. 2004:

Neosauropoda
 |--Diplodocoidea
 |     |--Nemegtosauridae
 |     |--Rebbachisauridae
 |     |--Dicraeosauridae
 |     `--Diplodocidae
 `--Macronaria
    `--Camarasauromorpha
       |--Brachiosauridae
       `--Titanosauria
          `--Titanosauroidea
             `--Saltasauridae

[edit] External links

• Vertebrate Paleontology (University of Bristol)
• TaxonSearch entry for Neosauropoda