A new dinosaur (Saurischia: Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of Brazil provides insights on the evolution of sauropodomorph body plan

Author(s)

Pretto, Flavio A. ^{[1, 2]} ; Langer, Max C. ^[3] ; Schultz, Cesar L. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Sul, Programa Posgrad Geociencias, Av Bento Goncalves 9500, BR-91540000 Porto Alegre, RS - Brazil

^[2] Univ Fed Santa Maria, Ctr Apoio Pesquisa Paleontol Quarta Colonia, Rua Maximiliano Vizzotto 598, BR-97230000 Sao Joao Do Polesine, RS - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, FFCLRP, Lab Paleontol Ribeirao Preto, Av Bandeirantes 3900, BR-14040901 Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: ZOOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY; v. 185, n. 2, p. 388-416, FEB 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 8

Abstract

A new sauropodomorph dinosaur from the Late Triassic Candelaria Sequence (Santa Maria Formation), south Brazil, Bagualosaurus agudoensis gen. et sp. nov., helps to fill a morphological gap between the previously known Carnian members of the group and younger sauropodomorphs. In some aspects, the skull, lower jaw, and dental anatomy of the new taxon approaches that seen in Norian forms like Pantydraco caducus, Efraasia minor, and Plateosaurus engelhardti. On the contrary, the post-cranial skeleton is broadly reminiscent of coeval, early dinosaurs. Although not reaching the size of most Norian and younger sauropodomorphs, B. agudoensis is significantly larger than coeval forms. The new data thus suggest that modifications in skull anatomy, possibly related to more efficient herbivorous habits, appeared early in sauropodomorph evolution, along with a moderate increase in size, followed in post-Carnian times by further increase in size, accompanied by more radical changes in post-cranial anatomy. (AU)