New record of a sauropod in the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition of the Iberian Peninsular (Spain): palaeobiogeographical implications

In recent decades a unique association of basal neosauropod and turiasaur sauropods has been described from the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition of Spain. In this context, a sauropod femur from the Tithonian–Berriasian is studied for the first time. The femur in question is an isolated specimen, recov...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Paläontologische Zeitschrift 2010-09, Vol.84 (3), p.427-435
Main Authors: Canudo, José Ignacio, Barco, José L., Castanera, Diego, Torcida Fernández-Baldor, Fidel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Paleontology
Short Communication
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Summary:In recent decades a unique association of basal neosauropod and turiasaur sauropods has been described from the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition of Spain. In this context, a sauropod femur from the Tithonian–Berriasian is studied for the first time. The femur in question is an isolated specimen, recovered from the Tera Group in Tera (Soria). It displays a unique mosaic of derived characters as yet undescribed in femora of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous of Spain. A prominent lateral bulge, high eccentricity, and a lateromedially flattened proximal end link the femur from Tera with Titanosauriformes. Moreover, it presents a significant distal projection of the tibial condyle, a character observed in Asiatic Titanosauriformes of the Lower Cretaceous. The femur from Tera adds a fifth sauropod taxon to the Tithonian–Berriasian of Spain, and, for the first time, a representative of Titanosauriformes.
ISSN:0031-0220
1867-6812
DOI:10.1007/s12542-010-0057-x