Clasmodosaurus
| Clasmodosaurus Temporal range: Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Neosauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| : | †Clasmodosaurus Ameghino, 1898 |
| Species | |
|
C. spatula Ameghino, 1898 | |
Clasmodosaurus was a genus of dinosaur, probably a sauropod. It lived during the Late Cretaceous in what is now Argentina. It is known only from three fossilized teeth, and is therefore a tooth taxon. It is a nomen dubium.[1]
The type species, Clasmodosaurus spatula, was described by Argentine paleontologist Florentino Ameghino in 1898. For a long time, these teeth were thought to belong to a theropod The teeth of Clasmodosaurus spatula were polygonal in cross section rather than round, an unusual trait also found in the titanosaur Bonitasaura salgadoi.[2]
History
Clasmodosaurus was named by Florentino Ameghino in 1898, but remained largely unknown for decades after its discovery.[3] It was originally considered a sauropod, but Friedrich von Huene suggested that it could be a coelurosaur or synonymous with Loncosaurus, which he considered to be a carnosaur.[4] Like Loncosaurus, its taxonomy remained unclear with it regarded as a theropod on the rare occasions it was mentioned. [4] However, Jaime Powell suggested that it was a dubious genus of sauropod in 1986, an identification which has been accepted since. Like diplodocoids and titanosaurs, it had narrow tooth crowns, and it is typically regarded as a titanosaur like most Late Cretaceous sauropods.[4]
References
- ↑ Upchurch, P.; Barrett, P. M.; Dodson, P. (2004). "Sauropoda". In Weishampel, D. B.; Dodson, P.; Osmólska, H. The Dinosauria (2nd ed.). pp. 259–322. ISBN 978-0520254084.
- ↑ Gallina, P. A.; Apesteguía, S. (2011). "Cranial anatomy and phylogenetic position of the titanosaurian sauropod Bonitasaura salgadoi". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 56 (1): 45–60.
- ↑ von Huene F. 1929. Los Saurisquios y ornithisquios del Cretaceo Argentino. Anales del Museo de la Plata.
- 1 2 3 Powell JE. 2003. Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs: palaeobiological, palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum 111:1–173.