User:Jobberone/Megaloolithus aureliensis
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Megaloolithus aureliensis is a large sauropod of the Late Cretaceous period.
| Titanosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous,
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|---|---|
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| Titanosaurus indicus holotypic distal caudal vertebra | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauriformes |
| Clade: | †Somphospondyli Lydekker, 1895 |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria Lydekker, 1895 |
| Genus: | †Titanosaurus Lydekker, 1877 |
| Species: | †T. indicus
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| Binomial name | |
| †Titanosaurus indicus Lydekker, 1877
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Titanosaurus (meaning 'titanic lizard' - named after the mythological 'Titans', deities of Ancient Greece) is a dubious genus of sauropod dinosaurs, first described by Lydekker in 1877.[1] It is known from the Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) Lameta Formation of India.
Titanosaurus are estimated to have grown up to 9–12 metres (30–40 ft) long and about 13 tons in weight. Titanosaurus has traditionally been treated as a "wastebin taxon" for poorly preserved sauropod remains that demonstrate a distinctive vertebrae anatomy. The original Titanosaurus remains consist only of limb bones and a few vertebrae that have these characteristics. However, discoveries of more and better-preserved titanosaur species have shown that these once distinctive features are in fact widespread across many genera. Therefore, Titanosaurus itself is considered a nomen dubium ("dubious name") by most paleontologists, since the original Titanosaurus specimens cannot be distinguished from those of related animals.[2]
Classification[edit]
Numerous species have been historically assigned to Titanosaurus, from southern Europe to South America. However, most of these are either classified in different genera today or are considered invalid or dubious. The most well-known species of Titanosaurus, "Titanosaurus" colberti, has been renamed Isisaurus.[3] Other species, such as T. blanfordi (Lydekker, 1879), are based on fragmentary remains which cannot be meaningfully compared to other species and are now considered nomina dubia.[2]
clade: †Titanosauria [Taxonomy; edit]
Superfamily: †Titanosauroidea [Taxonomy; edit]
Family: †Titanosauridae [Taxonomy; edit]
[show]Subfamily: †Titanosaurinae [Taxonomy; edit]
Genus: †Titanosaurus [Taxonomy; edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Lydekker, R. (1877). "Notices of new and other Vertebrata from Indian Tertiary and Secondary rocks." Records of the Geological Survey of India, 10(1): 30-43.
- ^ a b Wilson, J.A. and Upchurch, P. (2003). "A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (Dinosauria – Sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a “Gondwanan” distribution." Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, 1(3): 125-160.
- ^ Jain, Sohan L.; Bandyopadhyay, Saswati (1997). "New Titanosaurid (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Central India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 17 (1). Norman, Okla.: University of Oklahoma: 114–136. Retrieved December 31, 2012.
Category:Cretaceous dinosaurs Category:Dinosaurs of India and Madagascar Category:Titanosaurs
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External links[edit]
- ^ M. Vianey-Liaud, P. Mallan, O. Buscail and C. Montgelard. 1994. Review of French dinosaur eggshells: morphology, structure, mineral, and organic composition. Dinosaur Eggs and Babies, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 151-183