INVESTIGADORES
OTERO Alejandro
congresos y reuniones científicas
Título:
Redescription of a sauropod caudal vertebral series with strong affinities to Rebbachisauridae
Autor/es:
LUCAS LERZO; PABLO A. GALLINA; ALEJANDRO OTERO; JUAN CANALE
Reunión:
Encuentro; 1ra Reunión Virtual de la Asociación Paleontológica Argentina; 2020
Resumen:
The Rebbachisauridae constitutes a group of medium to large sauropods recorded from Lower to upper Cretaceous rocks(Barremian to Turonian). MMCh-PV 47 includes a partial articulated series of nine caudal vertebra (five mid-caudal and fourassociated mid-posterior caudal vertebrae) from the upper levels of the Candeleros Formation (Cenomanian) from Villa ElChocón, neuquén Province, Argentina, originally referred to Andesaurus and posteriorly reassigned to Titanosauria indet.With the increased knowledge (both in anatomy and systematic) of Rebbachisauridae in the last 10 years, several caudalcharacters permitted the re-analysis of this material and a reassessment to this family, allowing a correlation of this serieswith the caudal segment 7?15 of Zapalasaurus. Both Zapalasaurus and MMCh-PV 47 have amphicoelous centra and robustpedicels of the neural arch located on the anterior half of the centrum. Some characters previous considered assynapomorphies of Titanosauria are now recognized in Rebbachisauridae, such as the presence of neural arch anteriorlylocated and ventral longitudinal hollow in mid caudal centra. The former is present in mid caudal vertebrae ofDemandasaurus, Tataouinea, Nigersaurus, and in MMCh-PV 47. The latter is present in the mid caudal vertebra ofComahuesaurus, Demandasaurus, Tataouinea (with the particularity of bearing deep fossae in the ventral surface), andMMCh-PV 47. These features, plus middle caudal vertebrae with anterodorsally oriented prezygapophyses(sinamopomorphy of Rebbachisauridae) and new evidence from unpublished rebbachisaurid materials from the HuinculFormation, strongly support the rebbachisaurid affinities of MMCh-PV 47 as well as contribute to clarify the ingrouprelationships.