South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs Record, Diversity and Evolution

About this book

Sauropodomorpha Huene 1932 is one of the most successful groups of dinosaurs, including the most abundant and diverse herbivorous forms with a worldwide record, extending from the late Triassic to the late Cretaceous. Sauropodomorphs comprise a diverse assemblage of early forms (traditionally called “prosauropods”) and the well-established clade Sauropoda Marsh 1878. Early sauropodomorphs were small to medium-sized forms, with long necks and reduced skulls, mostly bipeds and omnivores and were abundant in continental environments in the Late Triassic and Early Jurassic. With more than 150 valid species and a worldwide distribution, Sauropoda includes the dominant herbivorous dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. Its unique body plan, characterized by gigantic size, graviportal locomotion, long necks and tails, and reduced skulls, made this group an undisputed icon in popular culture since the 19th century. In South America, the sauropodomorph record is particularly rich and abundant, and many species have shed light to understand important milestones in the evolutionary history of this group of dinosaurs. The origin of Sauropodomorpha, the transition to Sauropoda, and the diversification of its most successful evolutionary lineages are largely exemplified by the South American fossil record. In this contribution, the editors synthesize the diversity of sauropodomorphs from South America, including data on their geographic and stratigraphic provenance, phylogenetics, paleobiology, taphonomy and behaviour, underscoring their significance within the context of sauropodomorph evolution.

Contents

Preface / Otero, Carballido, Pol
Chapter 1. The early radiation of sauropodomorphs in the Carnian of South America / Langer, Apaldetti, Bronzati, Ezcurra, Marzola and Muller
Chapter 2. Non-sauropodiform plateosaurians: between biped gracile and robust quadrupedal / Otero
Chapter 3. Non-gravisaurian Sauropodiformes of South America: early trends towards gigantism / Apaldetti and Martinez
Chapter 4. Gravisaurian sauropods from the late Early Jurassic from South America and the radiation of Eusauropoda / Pol, Gomez, Holwerda, Rauhut and Carballido
Chapter 5. Highly specialized diplodocoids: the Rebbachisauridae / Salgado, Gallina and Lerzo
Chapter 6. Whiplash tails and spiny backs in southwestern Gondwana: flagellicaudatans from South America / Gallina, Apesteguia, Carballido and Garderes
Chapter 7. The rise of non-titanosaur macronarians in South America / Carballido, Salgado and Bellardini
Chapter 8. Titanosauria: early diversification and systematics / Carballido, Otero and Mannion
Chapter 9. Time for giants: titanosaurs from the Aptian-Santonian age / Gallina, Gonzalez Riga and Ortiz David
Chapter 10. Last titans: titanosaurs from the Campanian-Maastrichtian age / Rodrigo Santucci and Leonardo Filippi
Chapter 11. Eggs, nests and reproductive biology / Fernandez, Vila and Moreno-Azanza
Chapter 12. Body size evolution and locomotion in Sauropodomorpha: what the South American record tells us / Otero and Hutchinson
Chapter 13. South American sauropodomorphs: what their bone histology has revealed to us? / Cerda
Chapter 14. Sauropod ichnology: overview and new research lines from a South American perspective / Calvo, Gonzalez Riga, Apesteguia and Tomaselli
Chapter 15. Taphonomy: overview and new perspectives related with the paleobiology of giants / Gonzalez Riga, Casal, Fiorillo and Ortiz David

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