New lower jaw and teeth referred to Maxakalisaurus topai (Titanosauria: Aeolosaurini) and their implications for the phylogeny of titanosaurid sauropods

Author(s)

Franca, Marco A. G. ^[1] ; Marsola, Julio C. de A. ^[2] ; Riff, Douglas ^[3] ; Hsiou, Annie S. ^[2] ; Langer, Max C. ^[2]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Vale Sao Francisco Petr, Colegiado Ciencias Biol, Lab Paleontol & Evolucao Petr, Sao Francisco, PE - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, FFCLRP, Lab Paleontol Ribeirao Preto, BR-14049 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Fed Uberlandia, Inst Biol, Lab Paleontol, Av Engenheiro Dinz 1178, CP 593, BR-38400 Uberlandia, MG - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PeerJ; v. 4, JUN 8 2016.
• Web of Science Citations: 3

Abstract

Sauropod dinosaurs compose a diversified, well known, and worldwide distributed clade, with a stereotyped body plan: deep trunk, elongated neck and tail, columnar limbs and very small skull. In Brazil, the group is represented by ten formally described Cretaceous species, mostly titanosaurs. This is the case of Maxakalisaurus topai, known based on an incomplete and disarticulated skeleton, unearthed from deposits of the Adamantina Formation in Minas Gerais. Here, we report a partial right dentary, including five isolated teeth, collected from the same site as the type-series of M. topai and tentatively referred to that taxon. The bone is gently curved medially, the functional teeth are set on an anterolingual position, and two replacement teeth are seen per alveoli. New morphological data gathered from that specimen was employed to conduct a comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Titanosauria (with 42 taxa and 253 characters), based on previous studies. The Aeolosaurini clade was recovered, with Gondwanatitan and Aelosaurus as sister taxa, and Maxakalisaurus, Panamericansaurus, and Rinconsaurus forming a basal polytomy. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/23114-1 - Review of the Carnian (Neotriassic) Sauropodomorpha (Dinosauria) with description of new elements of Saturnalia tupiniquim
• Grantee: Júlio Cesar de Almeida Marsola
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 11/14080-0 - Cretaceous and Tertiary (Paleogene/Neogene) Squamates (Reptilia, Lepidosauria) from the Bauru, Aiuruoca and Acre basins: systematics, evolution and palaeoenvironments
• Grantee: Annie Schmaltz Hsiou
• Support Opportunities: Research Grants - Young Investigators Grants
• FAPESP's process: 14/03825-3 - The origin and rise of dinosaurs in Gondwana (late Triassic - early Jurassic)
• Grantee: Max Cardoso Langer
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants