Sauropoda

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Mateus, O. (2010).  Paleontological collections of the Museum of Lourinhã (Portugal). (Brandao, JM, Callapez, PM, O. Mateus, Castro, P, Ed.).Colecções e museus de Geologia: missão e gestão. 121-126., Jan: Ed. Universidade de Coimbra e Centro de Estudos e Filosofia da História da Ciência Coimbra Abstractmateus_2010_paleontological_collections_of_the_museum_of_lourinha__geocoleccoes_omateus.pdf

Abstract: The paleontological collections of the Museum of Lourinhã, in Portugal, has a rich paleontological collection, particularly of Late Jurassic dinosaurs of the Lourinhã Formation (Kimmeridgian-Tithonian). Most salient highlights comprehend the following dinosaur holotype specimens: stegosaur Miragaia longicollum, theropod Lourinhanosaurus antunesi, sauropod Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis, ornithopod Draconyx loureiroi, theropod Allosaurus europaeus, and, a mammal, Kuehneodon hahni. Other dinosaur specimens are referred including the nest and eggs and embryos of Lourinhanosaurus. Portugal is very productive in Late Jurassic vertebrates, being the seventh country bearing more dinosaur taxa.

Mannion, P. D., Upchurch P., Mateus O., Barnes R. N., & Jones M. E. H. (2012).  New information on the anatomy and systematic position of Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis (Sauropoda: Diplodocoidea) from the Late Jurassic of Portugal, with a review of European diplodocoids. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10(3), 521–551., Jan Abstractmannion_et_al_2012_new_information_on_the_anatomy_and_systematic_position_of_dinheirosaurus_lourinhanensis_sauropoda_-_diplodocoidea_from_the_late_jurassic_of_portugal_with_a_review_of_european_diplodocoids.pdf

Although diplodocoid sauropods from Africa and the Americas are well known, their European record remains largely neglected. Here we redescribe Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis from the Late Jurassic of Portugal. The holotype comprises two posterior cervical vertebrae, the dorsal series and a caudal centrum. Redescription demonstrates its validity on the basis of three autapomorphies: (1) posteriorly restricted ventral keel on posterior cervical vertebrae; (2) three small subcircular fossae posterior to the lateral coel on posterior cervical neural spines; (3) accessory lamina linking the hyposphene with base of the posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in middle-posterior dorsal vertebrae. Phylogenetic analysis places Dinheirosaurus as the sister taxon to Supersaurus, and this clade forms the sister taxon to other diplodocines. However, this position should be treated with caution as Dinheirosaurus displays several plesiomorphic features absent in other diplodocids (including unbifurcated presacral neural spines, and dorsolaterally projecting diapophyses on dorsal vertebrae) and only four additional steps are required to place Dinheirosaurus outside of Flagellicaudata. We identify Amazonsaurus as the basal-most rebbachisaurid and recover Zapalasaurus outside of the South American Limaysaurinae, suggesting the biogeographic history of rebbachisaurids is more complex than previously proposed. Review of the European diplodocoid record reveals evidence for the earliest known diplodocid, as well as additional diplodocid remains from the Late Jurassic of Spain. A Portuguese specimen, previously referred to Dinheirosaurus, displays strong similarities to Apatosaurus from the contemporaneous Morrison Formation of North America, indicating the presence of a second Late Jurassic Portuguese diplodocid taxon. Along with Dinheirosaurus, these Portuguese remains provide further evidence for a Late Jurassic palaeobiogeographic connection between Europe and North America. No dicraeosaurids are currently known from Europe, but rebbachisaurids are present in the Early Cretaceous, with weak evidence for the earliest known representative from the Late Jurassic of Spain; however, more complete material is required to recognize early members of this clade.

Sander, P. M., Mateus O., Laven T., & Knotschke N. (2006).  Bone histology indicates insular dwarfism in a new Late Jurassic sauropod dinosaur. Nature. 441, 739-741., Jan Abstractsander_mateus_et_al_2006_europasaurus_sauropod_histology_drwarfism_nature.pdf

Sauropod dinosaurs were the largest animals ever to inhabit the land, with truly gigantic forms in at least three lineages1, 2, 3. Small species with an adult body mass less than five tonnes are very rare4, 5, and small sauropod bones generally represent juveniles. Here we describe a new diminutive species of basal macronarian sauropod, Europasaurus holgeri gen. et sp. nov., and on the basis of bone histology we show it to have been a dwarf species. The fossils, including excellent skull material, come from Kimmeridgian marine beds of northern Germany6, 7, and record more than 11 individuals of sauropods 1.7 to 6.2 m in total body length. Morphological overlap between partial skeletons and isolated bones links all material to the same new taxon. Cortical histology of femora and tibiae indicates that size differences within the specimens are due to different ontogenetic stages, from juveniles to fully grown individuals. The little dinosaurs must have lived on one of the large islands around the Lower Saxony basin8. Comparison with the long-bone histology of large-bodied sauropods suggests that the island dwarf species evolved through a decrease in growth rate from its larger ancestor.

Mateus, O., Jacobs L. L., Schulp A. S., Polcyn M. J., Tavares T. S., Neto A. B., Morais M. L., & Antunes M. T. (2011).  Angolatitan adamastor, a new sauropod dinosaur and the first record from Angola.. Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências. 83, 221-233., Jan Abstractmateus_et_al_2011_angolatitan_adamastor_sauropod.pdfWebsite

A forelimb of a new sauropod dinosaur (Angolatitan adamastor n. gen. et sp.) from the Late Turonian of Iembe (Bengo Province) represents the first dinosaur discovery in Angola, and is one of the few occurrences of sauropod dinosaurs in sub-Saharan Africa collected with good chronological controls. The marginal marine sediments yielding the specimen are reported to be late Turonian in age and, thus it represents a non-titanosaurian sauropod in sub-Saharan Africa at a time taken to be dominated by titanosaurian forms. Moreover, Angolatitan adamastor is the only basal Somphospondyli known in the Late Cretaceous which implies in the existence of relict forms in Africa.

Mateus, O., & Milan J. (2010).  A diverse Upper Jurassic dinosaur ichnofauna from central-west Portugal. Lethaia. 43, 245–257., Jan Abstractmateus__milan_2010_-_diverse_l_j_ichnofauna_from_lourinha_fm_portugal.pdfWebsite

A newly discovered dinosaur track-assemblage from the Upper Jurassic Lourinha˜ Formation (Lusitanian Basin, central-west Portugal), comprises medium- to large-sized sauropod tracks with well-preserved impressions of soft tissue anatomy, stegosaur tracks and tracks from medium- to large-sized theropods. The 400-m-thick Lourinha˜ Formation consists of mostly aluvial sediments, deposited during the early rifting of the Atlantic Ocean in the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian. The stratigraphic succession shows several shifts between flood-plain mud and fluvial sands that favour preservation and fossilization of tracks. The studied track-assemblage is found preserved as natural casts on the underside of a thin bivalve-rich carbonate bed near the Tithonian–Kimmeridgian boundary. The diversity of the tracks from the new track assemblage is compared with similar faunas from the Upper Jurassic of Asturias, Spain and the Middle Jurassic Yorkshire Coast of England. The Portuguese record of Upper Jurassic dinosaur body fossils show close similarity to the track fauna from the Lourinha˜ Formation.

Mateus, O. (2009).  The sauropod dinosaur Turiasaurus riodevensis in the Late Jurassic of Portugal. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29, 144A., Jan Abstractmateus_2009_sauropod_dinosaur_turiasaurus_portugal_svp09abstractspdf.pdfWebsite

A partial sauropod was found in 1996 in Vale Pombas, north of Lourinhã, Central West of Portugal, in the Lourinhã Formation, top of Amoreira Porto Novo member dated as c. 150 M.a. (Early Tithonian, Late Jurassic) and is currently housed at Museum of Lourinhã, in Portugal. The specimen (ML368) comprises a complete tooth with root, anterior chevron and almost complete right forelimb including partial scapula, complete coracoid, humerus, ulna, radius, metacarpals I, III and V, phalanx, and ungual phalanx I. It can be ascribed to Turiasaurus riodevensis, which was previously described from the Villar del Arzobispo
Formation at Riodeva (Teruel, Spain). Characters shared with T. riodevensis holotype include: curvature and asymmetry of tooth crown, expansion of crown, outline of humerus, medial deflection of the proximal end of humerus, shape and prominence of deltopectoral crest, vertical ridge in the distal half of the ulna (considered as diagnostic of Turiasauria), configuration of metacarpals, and bone proportions. It differs from T. riodevensis holotype by the smaller size and the more rectangular ungual phalanx in lateral view. The sediments from which the Riodeva specimen was recovered were previsouly thought to be Tithonian to Berriasian in age. The presence of this species in Portugal, in beds confidently dated as Early
Tithonian, may allow a more precise date for the Riodeva type locality of early Tithonian in age. The humerus of the Portuguese T. riodevensis is 152 cm long. Although shorter than the Spanish specimen (790 mm), it represents a large individual. All adult sauropods recovered in Portugal thus far are very large individuals: Dinheirosaurus (estimated body length is 20-25 m), Lusotitan (humerus length estimated to be 205 cm), Lourinhasaurus (femur length: 174 cm), and Turiasaurus here reported. The lack of of small or medium adult body-size sauropods in the Late Jurassic of Portugal, suggests browsing niches thought to be occupied by smaller forms, could be have been available for other dinosaurs, like the long necked stegosaur Miragaia longicollum.

Milan, J., Christiansen P., & Mateus O. (2005).  A three-dimensionally preserved sauropod manus impression from the Upper Jurassic of Portugal: Implications for sauropod manus shape and locomotor mechanics. Kaupia. 14, 47-52. Abstractmilan_et_al_mateus_2005_-_3d_sauropod_manus_track_l_j_portugal.pdfWebsite

Sauropods were the largest animals ever to walk the earth, and evolved several specializations in their limbs in order to support their body mass. Their legs became columnar and their manual digits became reduced and encapsulated in tissue to form a single weight-bearing unit in the derived sauropods. A new three-dimensionally preserved cast of a sauropod manus, found in the Upper Jurassic Lourinhã Formation, Portugal, demonstrates not only the shape, but also the actual movements of the sauropod manus during the stride. The manus cast is 32 cm deep, and show the manus to be hoof-shaped and lacking any impressions of individual digits, except for digit I, the pollex. Well preserved striations from skin on the sides of the cast show that the manus was covered in rough, tubercular skin. The width of the manus cast is consistent from top to bottom, demonstrating that the manus was brought down and lifted vertically before any parasaggital movement of the upper limb took place.

Allain, R., Taquet P., Battail B., Dejax J., Richir P., Veran M., Limon-Duparcmeur F., Vacant R., Mateus O., Sayarath P., Khenthavong B., & Phouyavong S. (1999).  Un nouveau genre de dinosaure sauropode de la formation des Gres superieurs (Aptien-Albien) du Laos. Comptes Rendus de l'Academie des Sciences - Series IIA - Earth and Planetary Science. 329, 609-616., oct, Number 8 Abstractallain_taquet_battail_dejax_richir_mateus_et_al_1999_un_nouveau_genre_de_dinosaure_sauropode_de_la_formation_des_gres_superieurs_aptien-albien_du_laos.pdfWebsite

The partly-articulated postcranial remains of two sauropod skeletons recently found in Tang Vay (Savannakhet Province, Laos) are assigned to the species Tangvayosaurus hoffeti (nov. gen., nov. sp.). The derived characters present in the new material confirm the presence of titanosaurs in South East Asia at the end of the Early Cretaceous, but are not consistent with its placement within Titanosaurus genus as first done by Hoffet in 1942. All of the material relative to this species is therefore referred to a new genus: Tangvayosaurus. Tangvayosaurus and the Thai genus Phuwiangosaurus have strong affinities and are considered as primitive titanosaurs.

Bonaparte, J. F., & Mateus O. (1999).  A new diplodocid, Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis gen. et sp. nov., from the Late Jurassic beds of Portugal. Rev. Mus. Argent. Cienc. Nat. 5, 13-29., Number 2 Abstractbonapartemateus1999_sauropod_dinheirosaurus_portugal.pdfWebsite

Presacral vertebrae of a new Diplodocidae from the Late Jurassic Amoreira-Porto Novo Formation of Lourinhã, Portugal are described and figured. Dinheirosaurus lourinhanensis gen. et sp. is diagnosed by well developed accessory articulations derived from the hyposphene, exposed in lateral view; and by the smaller dorsoventral length of the lower section of the neural arch. It is considered that the organization of the dorsal neural arch of Dinheirosaurus is more derived than in Diplodocus, except in the dorsoventral development of the lower portion of it, which is higher (more derived) in the latter. Possibly the isolated geography of Portugal in the Late Jurassic gave rise to the distinct characters of this new genus.

Mateus, O., & Antunes M. T. (2002).  Novos vestígios de dinossauros saurópodes do Jurássico Superior da Lourinhã (Portugal).. Congresso Ibérico de Herpetologia. , Évora, Portugal Abstract

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