The appendicular osteology of Patagotitan mayorum (Dinosauria, Sauropoda)

ALEJANDRO OTERO; CARBALLIDO, JOSÉ L.; AGUSTÍN PÉREZ MORENO

JOURNAL OF VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

SOC VERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY

Lugar: Lawrence; Año: 2020

0272-4634

ABSTRACT? Its huge size, excellent preservation and material availability make Patagotitan mayorum an excellent opportunity to explore the anatomy, paleobiological and phylogenetic aspects linked to gigantism among Sauropoda. In this regard, we describe the appendicular skeleton of this titanosaurian species which lived in the late Albian (Cerro Barcino Formation), Chubut Province, Argentina. The diagnosis of P. mayorum is revised, increasing the number of autapomorphies respect to its original publication. Several diagnostic characters of this species correspond to osteological correlates associated to appendicular musculature, here being discussed in the context of sauropod evolution. Finally, although more recent phylogenies agree in the existence of two main lineages within Titanosauria, there is no consensus regarding the phylogenetic nomenclature of the involved clades, mainly because the instability of the reference taxa used to diagnose them. In the light of this, the positions of key taxa within lineages leading to lognkosaurians and saltasaurids are analysed in order to evaluate the stability of future nomenclatorial acts.