Tags

Type your tag names separated by a space and hit enter

A new basal sauropod dinosaur from the middle Jurassic of Niger and the early evolution of sauropoda.
PLoS One. 2009 Sep 16; 4(9):e6924.Plos

Abstract

BACKGROUND

The early evolution of sauropod dinosaurs is poorly understood because of a highly incomplete fossil record. New discoveries of Early and Middle Jurassic sauropods have a great potential to lead to a better understanding of early sauropod evolution and to reevaluate the patterns of sauropod diversification.

PRINCIPAL FINDINGS

A new sauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Niger, Spinophorosaurus nigerensis n. gen. et sp., is the most complete basal sauropod currently known. The taxon shares many anatomical characters with Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods, while it is strongly dissimilar to Lower and Middle Jurassic South American and Indian forms. A possible explanation for this pattern is a separation of Laurasian and South Gondwanan Middle Jurassic sauropod faunas by geographic barriers. Integration of phylogenetic analyses and paleogeographic data reveals congruence between early sauropod evolution and hypotheses about Jurassic paleoclimate and phytogeography.

CONCLUSIONS

Spinophorosaurus demonstrates that many putatively derived characters of Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods are plesiomorphic for eusauropods, while South Gondwanan eusauropods may represent a specialized line. The anatomy of Spinophorosaurus indicates that key innovations in Jurassic sauropod evolution might have taken place in North Africa, an area close to the equator with summer-wet climate at that time. Jurassic climatic zones and phytogeography possibly controlled early sauropod diversification.

Links

PMC Free PDF
PMC Free Full Text
FREE Publisher Full Text

Authors+Show Affiliations

Remes K
Paleontology, Steinmann Institute for Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. kristian.remes@uni-bonn.de
Ortega F
No affiliation info available
Fierro I
No affiliation info available
Joger U
No affiliation info available
Kosma R
No affiliation info available
Ferrer JM
No affiliation info available
Project PALDES
No affiliation info available
Niger Project SNHM
No affiliation info available
Ide OA
No affiliation info available
Maga A
No affiliation info available

MeSH

AnimalsBiodiversityBiological EvolutionClimateDinosaursExtinction, BiologicalFossilsGeographyNigerPaleontologyPhylogenyPopulation DynamicsTime Factors

Pub Type(s)

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Language

eng

PubMed ID

19756139

Citation

Remes, Kristian, et al. "A New Basal Sauropod Dinosaur From the Middle Jurassic of Niger and the Early Evolution of Sauropoda." PloS One, vol. 4, no. 9, 2009, pp. e6924.
Remes K, Ortega F, Fierro I, et al. A new basal sauropod dinosaur from the middle Jurassic of Niger and the early evolution of sauropoda. PLoS One. 2009;4(9):e6924.
Remes, K., Ortega, F., Fierro, I., Joger, U., Kosma, R., Ferrer, J. M., Ide, O. A., & Maga, A. (2009). A new basal sauropod dinosaur from the middle Jurassic of Niger and the early evolution of sauropoda. PloS One, 4(9), e6924. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006924
Remes K, et al. A New Basal Sauropod Dinosaur From the Middle Jurassic of Niger and the Early Evolution of Sauropoda. PLoS One. 2009 Sep 16;4(9):e6924. PubMed PMID: 19756139.
* Article titles in AMA citation format should be in sentence-case
TY - JOUR T1 - A new basal sauropod dinosaur from the middle Jurassic of Niger and the early evolution of sauropoda. AU - Remes,Kristian, AU - Ortega,Francisco, AU - Fierro,Ignacio, AU - Joger,Ulrich, AU - Kosma,Ralf, AU - Ferrer,José Manuel Marín, AU - ,, AU - ,, AU - Ide,Oumarou Amadou, AU - Maga,Abdoulaye, Y1 - 2009/09/16/ PY - 2009/06/19/received PY - 2009/08/01/accepted PY - 2009/9/17/entrez PY - 2009/9/17/pubmed PY - 2010/2/2/medline SP - e6924 EP - e6924 JF - PloS one JO - PLoS One VL - 4 IS - 9 N2 - BACKGROUND: The early evolution of sauropod dinosaurs is poorly understood because of a highly incomplete fossil record. New discoveries of Early and Middle Jurassic sauropods have a great potential to lead to a better understanding of early sauropod evolution and to reevaluate the patterns of sauropod diversification. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A new sauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Niger, Spinophorosaurus nigerensis n. gen. et sp., is the most complete basal sauropod currently known. The taxon shares many anatomical characters with Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods, while it is strongly dissimilar to Lower and Middle Jurassic South American and Indian forms. A possible explanation for this pattern is a separation of Laurasian and South Gondwanan Middle Jurassic sauropod faunas by geographic barriers. Integration of phylogenetic analyses and paleogeographic data reveals congruence between early sauropod evolution and hypotheses about Jurassic paleoclimate and phytogeography. CONCLUSIONS: Spinophorosaurus demonstrates that many putatively derived characters of Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods are plesiomorphic for eusauropods, while South Gondwanan eusauropods may represent a specialized line. The anatomy of Spinophorosaurus indicates that key innovations in Jurassic sauropod evolution might have taken place in North Africa, an area close to the equator with summer-wet climate at that time. Jurassic climatic zones and phytogeography possibly controlled early sauropod diversification. SN - 1932-6203 UR - https://www.unboundmedicine.com/medline/citation/19756139/A_new_basal_sauropod_dinosaur_from_the_middle_Jurassic_of_Niger_and_the_early_evolution_of_sauropoda_ L2 - https://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006924 DB - PRIME DP - Unbound Medicine ER -