Mendozasaurus

Mendozasaurus
Temporal range: Coniacian
~89–86 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Infraorder: Sauropoda
(unranked): Titanosauria
(unranked): Lognkosauria
Genus: Mendozasaurus
Binomial name
Mendozasaurus neguyelap
González Riga, 2003

Mendozasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur. It was a member of Titanosauria, which were massive sauropods that were common on the southern landmasses during the Cretaceous period. The titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap is represented by several partial skeletons from a single locality within the Coniacian (lower Upper Cretaceous) Sierra Barrosa Formation in the south of Mendoza Province, northern Neuquén Basin, Argentina. The type species, Mendozasaurus neguyelap, was discovered by Argentine paleontologist Bernardo Javier González Riga in 2003. Mendozasaurus is the first dinosaur named from Mendoza Province, Argentina.

Description

This species belonged to the discovered clade Lognkosauria,[1] a transitional group of titanosaurs which included the gigantic Futalognkosaurus and Puertasaurus. Like both of these animals, Mendozasaurus had a long neck with very wide cervical neural spines. A recent phylogenetic analysis recovers Mendozasaurus as the most basal member of a diverse Lognkosauria, including Futalognkosaurus and the gigantic titanosaurs Argentinosaurus, Notocolossus, Patagotitan and Puertasaurus [2].

References

  1. ↑ 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.
  2. ↑ Gonzalez Riga, B.J., Mannion, P.D., Poropat, S.F., Ortiz David, L., Coria, J.P. 2018. Osteology of the Late Cretaceous Argentinean sauropod dinosaur Mendozasaurus neguyelap: implications for basal titanosaur relationships. Journal of the Linnean Society, zlx103, https://doi.org/10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx103

Further reading

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