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User:Jobberone/Megaloolithus aureliensis

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Megaloolithus aureliensis is a large sauropod of the Late Cretaceous period.

Titanosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 70 Ma
Titanosaurus indicus holotypic distal caudal vertebra
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Clade: Titanosauriformes
Clade: Somphospondyli
Lydekker, 1895
Clade: Titanosauria
Lydekker, 1895
Genus: Titanosaurus
Lydekker, 1877
Species:
T. indicus
Binomial name
Titanosaurus indicus
Lydekker, 1877

Titanosaurus (meaning 'titanic lizard' - named after the mythological 'Titans', deities of Ancient Greece) is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaurs, first described by Lydekker in 1877.[1] It is known from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Lameta Formation of India.

Titanosaurus are estimated to have grown up to 9–12 metres (30–40 ft) long and about 13 tons in weight. Titanosaurus has traditionally been treated as a "wastebin taxon" for poorly preserved sauropod remains that demonstrate a distinctive vertebrae anatomy. The original Titanosaurus remains consist only of limb bones and a few vertebrae that have these characteristics. However, discoveries of more and better-preserved titanosaur species have shown that these once distinctive features are in fact widespread across many genera. Therefore, Titanosaurus itself is considered a nomen dubium ("dubious name") by most paleontologists, since the original Titanosaurus specimens cannot be distinguished from those of related animals.[2]

Classification

[edit]
T. blanfordi holotype distal caudal vertebra

Numerous species have been historically assigned to Titanosaurus, from southern Europe to South America. However, most of these are either classified in different genera today or are considered invalid or dubious. The most well-known species of Titanosaurus, "Titanosaurus" colberti, has been renamed Isisaurus.[3] Other species, such as T. blanfordi (Lydekker, 1879), are based on fragmentary remains which cannot be meaningfully compared to other species and are now considered nomina dubia.[2]

clade: †Titanosauria [Taxonomy; edit]

Superfamily: †Titanosauroidea [Taxonomy; edit]

Family: †Titanosauridae [Taxonomy; edit]

[show]Subfamily: †Titanosaurinae [Taxonomy; edit]

Genus: †Titanosaurus [Taxonomy; edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Lydekker, R. (1877). "Notices of new and other Vertebrata from Indian Tertiary and Secondary rocks." Records of the Geological Survey of India, 10(1): 30-43.
  2. ^ a b Wilson, J.A. and Upchurch, P. (2003). "A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (Dinosauria – Sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a “Gondwanan” distribution." Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 1(3): 125-160.
  3. ^ Jain, Sohan L.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati (1997). "New Titanosaurid (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Central India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (1). Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma: 114–136. Retrieved December 31, 2012.


[1]

Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Dinosaurs of India and Madagascar Category:Titanosaurs

[edit]


  1. ^ M. Vianey-Liaud, P. Mallan, O. Buscail and C. Montgelard. 1994. Review of French dinosaur eggshells: morphology, structure, mineral, and organic composition. Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 151-183