Specialized Craniofacial Anatomy of a Titanosaurian Embryo from Argentina

Kundrát, Martin; Coria, Rodolfo A.; Manning, Terry W.; Snitting, Daniel; Chiappe, Luis M.; Nudds, John R.; Ahlberg, Per

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.07.091

Cited by 15 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…5 e). Similar to the eggshell pores of Río Negro and Santo Domingo localities from Argentina 2 , 18 , 21 , straight and uniform pore canals of around 50 µm in diameter between the shell units are observed in the Ponte Alta specimens (Fig. 5 b).…”

Section: The Ponte Alta Nesting Sitesupporting

confidence: 61%

“…The Ponte Alta nesting site is the first confirmed dinosaur nesting area for Brazil. No embryo remains have been yet recovered in ovo at Ponte Alta to effectively confirm and identify these eggs; however, the morphological features aforementioned of the eggs and eggshells perfectly match the eggs with titanosaur embryos found inside at other nesting localities worldwide 13 , 16 , 21 , 35 , 36 . The egg-clutches, egg-shape and size, and the eggshell morphology, e.g., the shape of units, the surface nodular ornamentation, and the vertical and horizontal pore network system (Figs.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…However, the best-known titanosaur sauropod nesting sites are located in Argentina, with several prolific and remarkable localities 2 , 16 – 20 . The nesting sites from Argentina have yielded an impressive number of titanosaurian egg-clutches and even with embryo remains in ovo 2 , 16 , 17 , 19 , 21 . There is no unambiguous taxonomic certainty for these embryonic eggs, but it is likely that they belong to one of the two major groups of Late Cretaceous titanosaurs, namely Saltasauridae and Colossosauria 2 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First titanosaur dinosaur nesting site from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil

Fiorelli

Martinelli

Silva

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Titanosaurs were successful herbivorous dinosaurs widely distributed in all continents during the Cretaceous, with the major diversity in South America. The success of titanosaurs was probably due to several physiological and ecological factors, in addition to a series of morphological traits they achieved during their evolutionary history. However, the generalist nesting behaviour using different palaeoenvironments and strategies was key to accomplish that success. Titanosaur nesting sites have been found extensively around the world, with notable records in Spain, France, Romania, India, and, especially, Argentina. Here, we describe the first titanosaur nesting site from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil that represents the most boreal nesting site for South America. Several egg-clutches, partially preserved, isolated eggs and many eggshell fragments were discovered in an Inceptisol palaeosol profile of the mining Lafarge Quarry, at the Ponte Alta District (Uberaba Municipality, Minas Gerais State), corresponding to the Serra da Galga Formation (Bauru Group, Bauru Basin). Although classical mechanical preparation and CT scans have not revealed embryonic remains in ovo, the eggs and eggshell features match those eggs containing titanosaurian embryos found worldwide. The morphology of the egg-clutches and observations of the sedimentary characteristics bolster the hypothesis that these sauropods were burrow-nester dinosaurs, as was already suggested for the group based on other nesting sites. The egg-clutches distributed in two levels along the Lafarge outcrops, together with the geopalaeontological data collected, provide clear evidence for the first colonial nesting and breeding area of titanosaur dinosaurs in Brazil.

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Section: The Ponte Alta Nesting Sitesupporting

confidence: 61%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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First titanosaur dinosaur nesting site from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil

Fiorelli

Martinelli

Silva

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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“…A generally simple and plesiomorphically tubular maxillary canal condition in Ornithischia would be consistent with the relatively simple morphology of the mandibular canal figured for Fuikuisaurus, Edmontosaurus, and Triceratops (Kawabe and Hattori, 2021). Strangely enough, Diplodocus shows no evidence of a maxillary canal (Porter and Witmer, 2020), whereas a neonate titanosaur from Argentina displays evidence of some rostral neurovasculature (Kundrát et al, 2020). Data on other sauropodomorphs will be necessary to determine whatthe plesiomorphic condition is for the clade.…”

Section: Which Nerve(s) Occupied the Premaxillary Canals?mentioning

confidence: 99%

The rostral neurovascular system of Tyrannosaurus rex

Bouabdellah¹,

Lessner²,

Benoît³

2022

Palaeontol Electron

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The study of the rostral neurovascular system using CT scanning has shed new light on phylogenetic and palaeobiological reconstructions of many extinct tetrapods. This research shows a detailed description of the rostral neurovascular canals of Tyrannosaurus rex including the nasal, maxillary (dorsal alveolar), and mandibular (ventral alveolar) canals. Extensive comparisons with published descriptions show that the pattern of these canals in Tyrannosaurus is not unusual for a non-avian theropod. As in the non-avian theropod Neovenator, the maxillary canal shows several anastomoses of its branches. Differences from the plesiomorphic sauropsid condition are concentrated within the canal for the maxillary neurovasculature, which is primitively horizontal, tubular, and connected to a single row of supralabial foramina, whereas in Tyrannosaurus the main trunk of the canal is oriented more obliquely and dorsally displaced to give room to the deep tooth alveolae. As a result, the lateral branches that provide innervation and blood supply to the skin are dorsoventrally elongated compared to non-theropod taxa, and multiple rows of supralabial foramina are present. An overview of the literature suggests that the evolution of the trigeminal canals among sauropsids only weakly supports previous hypotheses of crocodile-like facial sensitivity in non-avian theropods (except, maybe, in semiaquatic taxa). More systematic studies of the rostral neurovascular canals in non-avian theropods may help answer the question of whether lips were present or not.

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“…2001; Kundrát et al. 2020), limiting the inference of major transitional steps close to the origin of Sauropoda.…”

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confidence: 99%

A shift in ontogenetic timing produced the unique sauropod skull

et al. 2021

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Sauropod dinosaurs include the largest terrestrial vertebrates that have ever lived. Virtually every part of the sauropod body is heavily modified in association with gigantic size and associated physiological alterations. Sauropod skulls are no exception: they feature elongated, telescoped facial regions connected to tilted neurocrania and reoriented jaw adductor muscles. Several of these cranial features have been suggested to be adaptations for feeding on the one hand and the result of paedomorphic transformation near the base of Sauropoda on the other. However, the scarcity of sauropodomorph ontogenetic series has impeded further investigation of these hypotheses. We re‐evaluated the cranial material attributed to the early sauropodomorph Anchisaurus, which our phylogenetic analyses confirm to be closely related to sauropods. Digital assembly of μCT‐scanned skulls of the two known specimens, a juvenile and an adult, permitted us to examine the detailed ontogeny of cranial elements. The skull anatomy of Anchisaurus is distinguished by a mosaic of ancestral saurischian and sauropod‐like characters. Sauropod‐like characters of the braincase and adductor chamber appear late in ontogeny, suggesting that these features first evolved by the developmental mechanism of terminal addition. Shape analyses and investigation of allometric evolution demonstrate that cranial characters that appear late in the ontogeny of sauropodomorphs closely related to sauropods are already present in the embryos and juveniles of sauropods, suggesting a predisplacement‐type shift in developmental timing from the ancestral anchisaurian condition. We propose that this developmental shift relaxed prior constraints on skull morphology, allowing sauropods to explore a novel range of phenotypes and enabling specializations of the feeding apparatus. The shift in timing occurred in concert with the evolution of gigantism and physiological and locomotory innovations.

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Specialized Craniofacial Anatomy of a Titanosaurian Embryo from Argentina

Cited by 15 publications

References 23 publications

First titanosaur dinosaur nesting site from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil

First titanosaur dinosaur nesting site from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil

The rostral neurovascular system of Tyrannosaurus rex

A shift in ontogenetic timing produced the unique sauropod skull

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