Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
4682212 | Journal of South American Earth Sciences | 2015 | 7 Pages |
•First cranial bones and atlas vertebra of titanosaurs from Peirópolis (Minas Gerais State, Brazil).•Cranial bones reminiscent of derived lithostratian titanosaurs.•Atlas vertebra possible constitutes a more conservative morphology than other vertebral elements.
Isolated left prefrontal, left squamosal and atlas of titanosaur dinosaurs are described and compared. They come from the Late Cretaceous Serra da Galga Member of the Marília Formation at the Serra do Veadinho region, Peirópolis (Uberaba County, Minas Gerais State, Brazil). Due to the sparse cranial elements of titanosaurs already known from Brazil, these specimens are noticeable to be presented. In addition, the atlas vertebra is described for the first time for Brazilian titanosaurs. The morphology of the cranial bones closely resembles lithostratian titanosaurs, such as Rapetosaurus, rather than basal titanosaurs. The atlas is similar to that of other titanosaurs, suggesting that the anatomy of this element seems to be more conservative than other vertebral elements, in which vertebral laminae play an important rule in titanosaur taxonomy.