Futalognkosaurus

Futalognkosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 87 Ma
↓
Mounted replica skeleton, Royal Ontario Museum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Titanosauria
Clade: †Lognkosauria
Genus: †Futalognkosaurus
Calvo et al., 2007
Species: † F. dukei
Binomial name
Futalognkosaurus dukei
Calvo et al., 2007

Futalognkosaurus (/ˌfuːtəˌlɒŋkoʊˈsɔːrəs/ FOO-tə-long-ko-SAW-rəs;[1] meaning "giant chief lizard") is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur. The herbivorous[2] Futalognkosaurus lived approximately 87 million years ago in the Portezuelo Formation, in what is now Argentina, of the Coniacian stage of the late Cretaceous Period. The fish and fossilized leaf debris on the site, together with other dinosaur remains, suggest a warm tropical climate in Patagonia during this period.

Discovery

Its fossils were found in the Neuquén province of Argentina in 2000, and were scientifically described in 2007. The genus name is derived from the local indigenous language Mapudungun and is pronounced foo-ta-long-koh-sohr-us: "futa" means "giant" and "lognko" means "chief".[3] It is based on three fossil specimens, yielding an estimated 70% of the skeleton in total. The fossil team described the find as "the most complete giant dinosaur known so far".

Description

The type species, Futalognkosaurus dukei, is estimated to be 26 metres (85 ft) in length.[4] Holtz estimated it longer at 28 metres (92 ft).[5] An even longer estimate, made by Gregory S. Paul found that Futalognkosaurus had a maximum length of 30 metres (98 ft).[6] Its long neck contained 14 vertebrae, and was over a meter deep in places, due to its extremely tall neural spines which had a distinctive "shark-fin" shape. The hips were also extremely large and bulky, reaching a width of nearly 3 metres (9.8 ft).[7] The alternate early spelling "Futalongkosaurus" may be found in some press reports and on websites.

Vertebrae

Classification

In their phylogenetic analysis, Calvo and colleagues found Futalognkosaurus to be a member of the Titanosauridae (or Lithostrotia, depending on the definitions being used), and most closely related to Mendozasaurus. They defined a new clade for the group containing both Futalognkosaurus and Mendozasaurus, their common ancestor, and all descendants, which they named the Lognkosauria.[3] The authors found Malawisaurus to be the sister group of this new clade. Another, much later member of Lognkosauria is the colossal Puertasaurus,[8] which may be the biggest dinosaur so far known. Besides Futalognkosaurus, other fauna was discovered in the Futalognko site, including two further undescribed sauropod taxa, specimens of Megaraptor, Unenlagia and some pleurodiran turtles.

References

  1. ↑ AP Pronunciation Guide D–K
  2. ↑ Pellim, Roberto (2007-10-19). "Nieuwe dinosoort". Metro (in Dutch). p. 7.
  3. 1 2 Calvo, J.O., Porfiri, J.D., González-Riga, B.J., and Kellner, A.W. (2007) "A new Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem from Gondwana with the description of a new sauropod dinosaur". Anais Academia Brasileira Ciencia, 79(3): 529-41.
  4. ↑ Calvo, J.O.; Juárez Valieri, R.D. & Porfiri, J.D. 2008. Re-sizing giants: estimation of body length of Futalognkosaurus dukei and implications for giant titanosaurian sauropods. 3° Congreso Latinoamericano de Paleontología de Vertebrados. Neuquén, Argentina.
  5. ↑ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages, Winter 2010 Appendix.
  6. ↑ Paul, G.S., 2010, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 207
  7. ↑ http://svpow.wordpress.com/2009/10/20/futalognkosaurus-was-one-big-ass-sauropod/
  8. ↑ Calvo, J. O.; Porfiri, J. D.; González Riga, B. J.; Kellner, A. W. A. (2007). "Anatomy of Futalognkosaurus dukei Calvo, Porfiri, González Riga, & Kellner, 2007 (Dinosauria, Titanosauridae) from the Neuquen Group, Late Cretaceous, Patagonia, Argentina" (PDF). Arquivos do Museu Nacional 65 (4): 511–526.

External links

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