Post by gigadino96 on Nov 17, 2014 22:01:37 GMT 5
Giganotosaurus carolinii
Giganotosaurus (/ˌdʒaɪɡəˌnoʊtəˈsɔrəs/ jy-gə--noh-tə-sor-əs or gig-ə-not-o-saw-rus meaning "giant southern lizard") is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs that lived in what is now Argentina during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous Period, approximately some 100 to 97 million years ago. It included some of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, with known individuals equaling or slightly bigger than the size of the largest of the genera Tyrannosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, but not as large as those of Spinosaurus. The skeleton of the holotype specimen (MUCPv-Ch1) is about 70% complete and includes parts of the skull, a lower jaw, pelvis, hindlimbs and most of the backbone, missing only the premaxillae, jugals, quadratojugals, the back of the lower jaws and the forelimbs. A second specimen (MUCPv-95) has also been identified, found in 1988 by Jorge Calvo and consisting of a fragment of a lower jaw, said to be 8% larger than the corresponding part in the first specimen. The skull of Giganotosaurus is large; that of the holotype was in 1995 estimated at 1.53 m (5.0 ft) in length. Even though the original authors briefly claimed the length to be up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft)—leading to an estimate of 1.95 m (6.4 ft) skull length for the referred specimen—this claim was not repeated by subsequent workers and one of the original authors was in 2002 co-writer of an article giving a holotype skull length of 1.6 m (5.2 ft). Some have claimed that even the original estimate was too long and believe the skull to be almost exactly comparable to the one of Tyrannosaurus in length. The skull is slender and elongated in build, with rugose areas on the edges of the snout top and above the eye. The supratemporal openings were overhung by the edges of the skull roof where the jaw muscles of each side directly attached instead of meeting each other at a midline skull crest. The back of the skull as preserved is strongly inclined forwards, bringing the jaw joints far behind the attachment point of the neck. The endocast of Giganotosaurus has a volume of 275 cc (16.8 cu in) and including the olfactory bulbs, it was 19% longer than that of the related theropod, Carcharodontosaurus saharicus. The shoulder blade was very short and thick, with sudden kinks in its shaft. The ischium had a paddle-shaped end; the thigh bone, 1.43 m long in the holotype, had a head that was pointing relatively upwards. The mid dorsal vertebrae carried rather high spines. The total length of the holotype has been estimated between 12.2 and 12.5 m (40 and 41 ft), the largest specimen is 13.2 m (43 ft), and the weight between 6.5 and 13.8 tonnes (14,330 and 30,420 lb).
Andesaurus delgadoi
Andesaurus (/ˌændɨˈsɔrəs/ an-də-sawr-əs; "Andes lizard") is a genus of basal titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur which existed during the middle of the Cretaceous Period in South America. Like most sauropods, it would have had a small head on the end of a long neck and an equally long tail. Andesaurus was a very large sauropod, as were many others of its relatives, which included the largest animals ever to walk the Earth. In 1991, paleontologists Jorge Calvo and Jose Bonaparte named Andesaurus, which refers to the Andes Mountains and also includes the Greek word sauros ("lizard"), because of the proximity of this animal's remains to the Andes. Andesaurus fossils were found by Alejandro Delgado, after whom the single known species (A. delgadoi) is named. The only known material of Andesaurus is a partial skeleton consisting of a series of four vertebrae from the lower back, as well as 27 tail vertebrae, divided up into two series from separate parts of the tail. The vertebrae from the middle part of its tail had elongated centra. Elements of the pelvis were also discovered, including two ischia and a pubis bone, along with rib fragments and an incomplete humerus and femur. Size estimates place Andesaurus at roughly 15 metres (49 ft) in length, and 7 metric tons (7.7 short tons) in weight. These fossils were discovered in the Candeleros Formation, the oldest formation within the Neuquén Group of Neuquén Province, Argentina. This formation dates to the early Cenomanian stage of the Early Cretaceous Period, or about 100 to 97 million years ago. For the most part, the Candeleros represents an ancient braided river system, and besides Andesaurus, also contains fossils of theropods like Buitreraptor and the enormous Giganotosaurus, as well as other non-related sauropods such as Limaysaurus. Several plesiomorphic (primitive) features characterize Andesaurus as the most basal known member of Titanosauria. In fact, this clade has been defined to contain Andesaurus, Saltasaurus, their most recent common ancestor, and all of its descendants. The most prominent plesiomorphy is the articulations between its tail vertebrae. In most derived titanosaurs, the tail vertebrae articulate with ball-and-socket joints, with the hollowed-out socket end on the front (procoelous caudal vertebrae), while in Andesaurus, both ends of the vertebrae are flat (amphiplatyan caudals), as seen in many non-titanosaurian sauropods. Andesaurus itself is only characterized by a single feature, the tall neural spines on top of its back vertebrae, and needs further study. Some other basal titanosaurs from Argentina, including Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus, were also sauropods of enormous size. The most derived group of titanosaurs, the Saltasauridae, included some of the smallest known sauropods, including Saltasaurus itself. Thus it is possible that the largest sizes were attained among the more basal members of the clade.
Giganotosaurus (/ˌdʒaɪɡəˌnoʊtəˈsɔrəs/ jy-gə--noh-tə-sor-əs or gig-ə-not-o-saw-rus meaning "giant southern lizard") is a genus of carcharodontosaurid dinosaurs that lived in what is now Argentina during the early Cenomanian age of the Late Cretaceous Period, approximately some 100 to 97 million years ago. It included some of the largest known terrestrial carnivores, with known individuals equaling or slightly bigger than the size of the largest of the genera Tyrannosaurus and Carcharodontosaurus, but not as large as those of Spinosaurus. The skeleton of the holotype specimen (MUCPv-Ch1) is about 70% complete and includes parts of the skull, a lower jaw, pelvis, hindlimbs and most of the backbone, missing only the premaxillae, jugals, quadratojugals, the back of the lower jaws and the forelimbs. A second specimen (MUCPv-95) has also been identified, found in 1988 by Jorge Calvo and consisting of a fragment of a lower jaw, said to be 8% larger than the corresponding part in the first specimen. The skull of Giganotosaurus is large; that of the holotype was in 1995 estimated at 1.53 m (5.0 ft) in length. Even though the original authors briefly claimed the length to be up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft)—leading to an estimate of 1.95 m (6.4 ft) skull length for the referred specimen—this claim was not repeated by subsequent workers and one of the original authors was in 2002 co-writer of an article giving a holotype skull length of 1.6 m (5.2 ft). Some have claimed that even the original estimate was too long and believe the skull to be almost exactly comparable to the one of Tyrannosaurus in length. The skull is slender and elongated in build, with rugose areas on the edges of the snout top and above the eye. The supratemporal openings were overhung by the edges of the skull roof where the jaw muscles of each side directly attached instead of meeting each other at a midline skull crest. The back of the skull as preserved is strongly inclined forwards, bringing the jaw joints far behind the attachment point of the neck. The endocast of Giganotosaurus has a volume of 275 cc (16.8 cu in) and including the olfactory bulbs, it was 19% longer than that of the related theropod, Carcharodontosaurus saharicus. The shoulder blade was very short and thick, with sudden kinks in its shaft. The ischium had a paddle-shaped end; the thigh bone, 1.43 m long in the holotype, had a head that was pointing relatively upwards. The mid dorsal vertebrae carried rather high spines. The total length of the holotype has been estimated between 12.2 and 12.5 m (40 and 41 ft), the largest specimen is 13.2 m (43 ft), and the weight between 6.5 and 13.8 tonnes (14,330 and 30,420 lb).
Andesaurus delgadoiAndesaurus (/ˌændɨˈsɔrəs/ an-də-sawr-əs; "Andes lizard") is a genus of basal titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur which existed during the middle of the Cretaceous Period in South America. Like most sauropods, it would have had a small head on the end of a long neck and an equally long tail. Andesaurus was a very large sauropod, as were many others of its relatives, which included the largest animals ever to walk the Earth. In 1991, paleontologists Jorge Calvo and Jose Bonaparte named Andesaurus, which refers to the Andes Mountains and also includes the Greek word sauros ("lizard"), because of the proximity of this animal's remains to the Andes. Andesaurus fossils were found by Alejandro Delgado, after whom the single known species (A. delgadoi) is named. The only known material of Andesaurus is a partial skeleton consisting of a series of four vertebrae from the lower back, as well as 27 tail vertebrae, divided up into two series from separate parts of the tail. The vertebrae from the middle part of its tail had elongated centra. Elements of the pelvis were also discovered, including two ischia and a pubis bone, along with rib fragments and an incomplete humerus and femur. Size estimates place Andesaurus at roughly 15 metres (49 ft) in length, and 7 metric tons (7.7 short tons) in weight. These fossils were discovered in the Candeleros Formation, the oldest formation within the Neuquén Group of Neuquén Province, Argentina. This formation dates to the early Cenomanian stage of the Early Cretaceous Period, or about 100 to 97 million years ago. For the most part, the Candeleros represents an ancient braided river system, and besides Andesaurus, also contains fossils of theropods like Buitreraptor and the enormous Giganotosaurus, as well as other non-related sauropods such as Limaysaurus. Several plesiomorphic (primitive) features characterize Andesaurus as the most basal known member of Titanosauria. In fact, this clade has been defined to contain Andesaurus, Saltasaurus, their most recent common ancestor, and all of its descendants. The most prominent plesiomorphy is the articulations between its tail vertebrae. In most derived titanosaurs, the tail vertebrae articulate with ball-and-socket joints, with the hollowed-out socket end on the front (procoelous caudal vertebrae), while in Andesaurus, both ends of the vertebrae are flat (amphiplatyan caudals), as seen in many non-titanosaurian sauropods. Andesaurus itself is only characterized by a single feature, the tall neural spines on top of its back vertebrae, and needs further study. Some other basal titanosaurs from Argentina, including Argentinosaurus and Puertasaurus, were also sauropods of enormous size. The most derived group of titanosaurs, the Saltasauridae, included some of the smallest known sauropods, including Saltasaurus itself. Thus it is possible that the largest sizes were attained among the more basal members of the clade.
