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Saltasauridae
Saltasauridae (named after the Salta region of Argentina where they were first found) is a family of armored herbivorous sauropods from the Upper Cretaceous. They are known from fossils found in South America, Africa, Asia, North America, and Europe. They are characterized by their vertebrae and feet, which are similar to those of ''Saltasaurus'', the first of the group to be discovered and the source of the name. The last and largest of the group and only one found in North America, ''Alamosaurus'', was in length and one of the last sauropods to go extinct. Most of the saltasaurids were smaller, around in length, and one, ''Rocasaurus'', was only long. Like all sauropods, the saltasaurids were quadrupeds, their necks and tails were held almost parallel to the ground, and their small heads had only tiny, peg-like teeth. They were herbivorous, stripping leaves off plants and digesting them in their enormous guts. Although large animals, they were smaller than other sauropods of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Titanosaur
Titanosaurs (or titanosaurians; members of the group Titanosauria) were a diverse group of sauropod dinosaurs, including genera from all seven continents. The titanosaurs were the last surviving group of long-necked sauropods, with taxa still thriving at the time of the extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous. This group includes some of the largest land animals known to have ever existed, such as '' Patagotitan'', estimated at long with a mass of , and the comparably-sized '' Argentinosaurus'' and '' Puertasaurus'' from the same region. The group's name alludes to the mythological Titans of ancient Greek mythology, via the type genus (now considered a ''nomen dubium)'' '' Titanosaurus''. Together with the brachiosaurids and relatives, titanosaurs make up the larger sauropod clade Titanosauriformes. Titanosaurs have long been a poorly-known group, and the relationships between titanosaur species are still not well-understood. Fossil record Due to the near-global distr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alamosaurus
''Alamosaurus'' (; meaning "Ojo Alamo lizard") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs containing a single known species, ''Alamosaurus sanjuanensis'', from the Maastrichtian age of the Late Cretaceous period in what is now southwestern North America. It is the only known titanosaur to have inhabited North America after the nearly 30-million year absence of sauropods from the North American fossil record and probably represents an immigrant from South America. Adults would have measured around long, tall at the shoulder and weighed up to , though some specimens indicate a larger body size. Isolated vertebrae and limb bones suggest that it could have reached sizes comparable to ''Argentinosaurus'' and '' Puertasaurus'', which would make it the absolute largest dinosaur known from North America. Its fossils have been recovered from a variety of rock formations spanning the Maastrichtian age. Specimens of a juvenile ''Alamosaurus sanjuanensis'' have been recovered from o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opisthocoelicaudiinae
Opisthocoelicaudiinae is a subfamily of titanosaurian dinosaurs from the Late Cretaceous. It was named by John McIntosh in 1990. Opisthocoelicaudiines are known from Mongolia, Argentina, and the United States. Two genera were assigned to Opisthocoelicaudiinae by Gonzalez ''et al.'' (2009): ''Alamosaurus'' and ''Opisthocoelicaudia'' (the type genus), a conclusion also found by Díez Díaz ''et al.'' (2018). The hands of opisthocoelicaudiines lacked wrist bones and phalanges. It was suggested by Averianov and Lopatin in 2022 that ''Opisthocoelicaudia'' was not in fact closely related to ''Saltasaurus'', and instead to ''Nemegtosaurus'' and ''Quaesitosaurus'', which are both also Laurasian, as well as isolated teeth from the Turonian of Uzbekistan and the Santonian of Kazakhstan. Suggesting a more distant relationship to ''Saltasaurus'', Averianiov and Lopatin suggested using the clade name Opisthocoelicaudiidae for the group, limiting Saltasauridae to Gondwanan taxa. Opisthocoelic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saltasaurinae
Saltasaurinae is a subfamily of titanosaurian sauropods known from the late Cretaceous period of South America, India and Madagascar. Description Saltasaurines are relatively small sauropods with the general body shape of a small head, long neck, four limbs, and a long tail. They range from the small ''Ibirania'' at around , to the larger '' Neuquensaurus'' at . A currently unnamed fragmentary sauropod from Madagascar may turn out to be a saltasaurine longer than ''Neuquensaurus''. The weight of saltasaurines is very light compared to that of some of the largest dinosaurs. Thomas R. Holtz Jr. found the genera range from around , with ''Saltasaurus'' and an unnamed genus on both extremes, respectively.Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) ''Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages,'Winter 2010 Appendix./ref> Saltasaurinae is the only known group of sauropods found with armour from almost every species. The most probable reason for the bony stud ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rocasaurus
''Rocasaurus'' (meaning " General Roca lizard") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod that lived in South America. ''Rocasaurus'' was discovered in Argentina in 2000, within the Allen Formation which is dated to be middle Campanian to early Maastrichtian in age (75 to 70 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous). This genus grew up to long, making it one of the smaller sauropods. It seems to be closely related to saltasaurid dinosaurs, like ''Saltasaurus'' and '' Neuquensaurus''. The type species, ''Rocasaurus muniozi'', was formally described by Leonardo Salgado and Azpilicueta in 2000.Salgado, L. and C. Azpilicueta. (2000). Un nuevo saltasaurino (Sauropoda, Titanosauridae) de la provincia de Río Negro (Formacíon Allen, Cretácico Superior), Patagonia, Argentina. ''Ameghiniana'' 37 (3):259-264. New specimens were described in 2021. Discovery and naming Between 1989 and 1994, expeditions of the National University of Comahue and the Carlos Ameghino Provincial Museum collected ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saltasaurus
''Saltasaurus'' (which means "lizard from Salta") is a genus of saltasaurid dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous Period (geology), period of Argentina. Small among sauropods, though still heavy by the standards of modern creatures, ''Saltasaurus'' was characterized by a short neck and stubby limbs. It was the first genus of sauropod known to possess Armour (zoology), armour of bony plates embedded in its skin. Such small bony plates, called osteoderms, have since been found on other titanosaurians. Discovery The fossils of ''Saltasaurus'' were excavated by José Bonaparte, Martín Vince and Juan C. Leal between 1975 and 1977 at the Estancia "El Brete". The find was in 1977 reported in the scientific literature. ''Saltasaurus'' was named and described by Bonaparte and Jaime E. Powell in 1980. The type species is ''Saltasaurus loricatus''. Its generic name is derived from Salta Province, the region of north-west Argentina where the first fossils were recovered. The specific name (zoolo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zhuchengtitan
''Zhuchengtitan'' (meaning "Zhucheng titan") is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Shandong, China. It contains a single species, ''Z. zangjiazhuangensis'', named by Mo Jinyou and colleagues in 2017 from a single humerus. ''Zhuchengtitan'' can be identified by the extreme width of the top end of its humerus, as well as the expansion of the deltopectoral crest on its humerus; both of these characteristics indicate that it was likely closely related to ''Opisthocoelicaudia''. However, it differs from the latter by the flatter bottom articulating surface of its humerus. ''Zhuchengtitan'' lived in a floodplain environment alongside ''Shantungosaurus'', ''Zhuchengtyrannus'', and '' Sinoceratops''. Discovery and naming ''Zhuchengtitan'' is known from a single humerus that was discovered in the Wangshi Group within the region of Zhucheng, Shandong, China. The primary fossil localities within this region are the Longgujian, Kugou, and Zangjiazhuang Quar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauropoda
Sauropoda (), whose members are known as sauropods (; from ''wikt:sauro-, sauro-'' + ''wikt:-pod, -pod'', 'lizard-footed'), is a clade of saurischian ('lizard-hipped') dinosaurs. Sauropods had very long necks, long tails, small heads (relative to the rest of their body), and four thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land. Well-known genus, genera include ''Apatosaurus'', ''Argentinosaurus'', ''Alamosaurus'', ''Brachiosaurus'', ''Camarasaurus'', ''Diplodocus,'' and ''Mamenchisaurus''. The oldest known unequivocal sauropod dinosaurs are known from the Early Jurassic. ''Isanosaurus'' and ''Antetonitrus'' were originally described as Triassic sauropods, but their age, and in the case of ''Antetonitrus'' also its sauropod status, were subsequently questioned. Sauropod-like sauropodomorph tracks from the Fleming Fjord Formation (Greenland) might, however, indicate the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Macronaria
Macronaria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs. Macronarians are named after the large diameter of the nasal opening of their skull, known as the external naris, which exceeded the size of the orbit, the skull opening where the eye is located (hence ''macro''- meaning large, and –''naria'' meaning nose). Fossil evidence suggests that macronarian dinosaurs lived from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) through the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). Macronarians have been found globally, including discoveries in Argentina, the United States, Portugal, China, and Tanzania. Like other Sauropoda, sauropods, they are known to have inhabited primarily terrestrial areas, and little evidence exists to suggest that they spent much time in coastal environments. Macronarians are diagnosed through their distinct characters on their skulls, as well as appendicular and vertebral characters. Macronaria is composed of several subclades and families notably including Camarasauridae and Titanosauriformes, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neosauropoda
Neosauropoda is a clade within Dinosauria, coined in 1986 by Argentina, Argentine paleontologist José Bonaparte and currently described as ''Saltasaurus loricatus'', ''Diplodocus longus'', and all animals directly descended from their most recent common ancestor. The group is composed of two subgroups: Diplodocoidea and Macronaria. Arising in the early Jurassic and persisting until the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, Neosauropoda contains the majority of sauropod genera, including genera such as ''Apatosaurus'', ''Brachiosaurus'', and ''Diplodocus''. It also includes giants such as ''Argentinosaurus'', ''Patagotitan'' and ''Sauroposeidon'', and its members remain the largest land animals ever to have lived. When Bonaparte first coined the term Neosauropoda in 1986, he described the clade as comprising “end-Jurassic” sauropods. While Neosauropoda does appear to have originated at the end of the Jurassic period, it also includes m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Qingxiusaurus
''Qingxiusaurus'' (meaning "Qingxiu lizard"; "Qingxiu" is short for Pinyin "shangqingshuixiu", which means "a picturesque scenery of mountains and water in Guangxi") is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Dashi Site of Guangxi, China. The type species, described by Mo ''et al.'' in 2008, is ''Q. youjiangensis''. Like other sauropods, ''Qingxiusaurus'' would have been a large quadrupedal herbivore. It is known from only limited remains collected in 1991: Two humeri The humerus (; : humeri) is a long bone in the arm that runs from the shoulder to the elbow. It connects the scapula and the two bones of the lower arm, the radius and ulna, and consists of three sections. The humeral upper extremity consists of ..., two sternal plates, and the neural spine of a single vertebra. References Saltasauridae Dinosaur genera Maastrichtian dinosaurs Taxa named by Xu Xing Fossil taxa described in 2008 Dinosaurs of China {{Sauropodomorph-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Infraglenoid Tubercle
The infraglenoid tubercle is the part of the scapula from which the long head of the triceps brachii muscle originates. The infraglenoid tubercle is a tubercle located on the lateral part of the scapula, inferior to (below) the glenoid cavity The glenoid fossa of the scapula or the glenoid cavity is a bone part of the shoulder. The word ''glenoid'' is pronounced or (both are common) and is from , "socket", reflecting the shoulder joint's ball-and-socket form. It is a shallow, pyri .... The name infraglenoid tubercle refers to its location below the glenoid cavity. Function The infraglenoid tubercle is the origin of the long head of the triceps brachii muscle. It helps to stabilise the muscle origin. Additional images File:Infraglenoid tubercle of left scapula - animation.gif, Left scapula. Infraglenoid tubercle shown in red. File:Infraglenoid tubercle of scapula - animation01.gif, Animation. Infraglenoid tubercle shown in red. File:Infraglenoid tubercle of left sca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
