Zapalasaurus

• Neuquén, Argentina (La Amarga Formation)

• Zapalasaurus bonapartei

Zapalasaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Argentina. It is counted among the Diplodocoidea and possibly belongs in this group to the Rebbachisauridae. So far, a single, very fragmentary skeleton is only known to the ( lower Aptian to Upper Barremian ) of the Argentine province of Neuquén comes from the Lower Cretaceous. The only way is Zapalasaurus bonapartei.

Features

As with all sauropods is a large, four-legged herbivore with a long neck and tail. The only known skeleton consists mainly of a series of 17 caudal vertebrae, belonging to the anterior and middle portion of the tail, the pelvis ( ilium, ischium and pubis ), a fragment of the femur and the tibia. Unique features ( autapomorphies ) are found mainly in the caudal vertebrae: Your length took the tail end to back, with the twentieth vertebrae of the tail was about twice as long as the first. The spinous processes were proximodistal ( along the center line of the body) is elongated, with the front ( proximal ) portion of each spinous process was higher than the back ( distal ).

System

Leonardo Salgado and colleagues ( 2006) classify Zapalasaurus as the basalsten ( pristine ) Representatives of Diplodocoidea which, although derived ( advanced ) was derived as Haplocanthosaurus, but less strongly than the Rebbachisauridae. Some recent studies consider this genus, however, as a representative of the Rebbachisauridae.

History of research, naming and discovery

The majority of the find was recovered in 1995 and 1996 by a paleontological expedition led by José Bonaparte. Other parts were salvaged in 2004. 2006 Zapalasaurus of researchers led by Leonardo Salgado, Ismar de Souza Carvalho and Alberto Garrido was first described scientifically. The name Zapalasaurus has the city Zapala, near which the fossils were discovered; the second part of the species name, bonapartei honors José Bonaparte, for the discovery of the fossil and for his extensive work on Mesozoic vertebrates.

The skeleton ( holotype, specimen number Pv - 6127 - MOZ) was about 80 km south of the city Zapala discovered in the Argentine province of Neuquen. It comes from the top of the La Amarga Subformation lineup, the Piedra Parada - members, and is the first from this Subformation Fossil described. The depositional environment of sedimentary rocks is interpreted as an alluvial flood plain of a river.

Documents

• Sauropoda
• Sauropods