RE: The New Paper at the End of the Universe (Was: Hitchhiker's New Papers to the Galaxy)

["Thomas R. Holtz, Jr." <tholtz@umd.edu>]

> From: owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu [mailto:owner-DINOSAUR@usc.edu] 
> On Behalf Of Mike Taylor
> Sent: Wednesday, August 15, 2007 7:21 AM
> To: jharris@dixie.edu
> Cc: DINOSAUR Mailing List
> Subject: The New Paper at the End of the Universe (Was: 
> Hitchhiker's New Papers to the Galaxy)
> 
> Jerry D. Harris writes:
>  > Hi All -
>  >
>  > Before we get to the juicy stuff, here's some new things:
>  > [snip]
> 
> But, Jerry, you missed the highlight: a new, and 
> well-represented brachiosaurid!
>       
>       Rose, Peter J.  2007.  A new titanosauriform sauropod
>       (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Early Cretaceous of central
>       Texas and its phylogenetic relationships.  Palaeontologia
>       Electronica 10 (2): 8A.
>       http://palaeo-electronica.org/2007_2/00063/
> 
> ABSTRACT
> 
> A collection of primitive titanosauriform sauropods from the 
> Jones Ranch locality, Early Cretaceous Twin Mountains 
> Formation (~112 Ma), central Texas, represents one of the 
> richest accumulations of sauropod bones in North America. 
> Autapomorphic characters of the taxon include cranial and 
> mid-caudal neural arches with distinct intraprezygapophyseal 
> laminae (tprl), accessory vertebral laminae on cranial dorsal 
> neural arches, and dorsal neural spines that lack a postspinal lamina.
> 
> Non-vertebral skeletal elements referred to the genus 
> Pleurocoelus from the Arundel Formation of Maryland and 
> Virginia possess some diagnostic morphological 
> characteristics and can be compared with the Jones Ranch 
> sauropod. The latter differs from Pleurocoelus in the shape 
> of the caudoventral margin of the maxilla, the shape of the 
> distal scapular blade, and the shape of the proximal condyle 
> of the tibia. The Jones Ranch sauropod is also 
> morphologically distinct from all other sauropods described 
> and named from the Early Cretaceous of North America.
> 
> Cladistic analysis places this sauropod within 
> Titanosauriformes. The Texas sauropod does not possess 
> synapomorphies of Somphospondyli, and derived characters that 
> have been used to define the Titanosauria are also absent, 
> affirming its placement as a basal titanosauriform. The new 
> taxon from Texas is known from more material than any other 
> North American Early Cretaceous sauropod. Description of the 
> taxon increases the diversity of sauropods in North America 
> during the Early Cretaceous and provides more complete, 
> associated material that can be compared to new discoveries 
> from this time period.
> 
Mike didn't mention that the taxon in question (the infamous "Texas
Pleurocoelus" material) is now given a name:

Paluxysaurus jonesi, after Paluxy, Texas and William R. (Bill) Jones (the
man whose land the specimens come from). 

Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
Email: tholtz@umd.edu   Phone: 301-405-4084
Office: Centreville 1216                        
Senior Lecturer, Vertebrate Paleontology
Dept. of Geology, University of Maryland
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~tholtz/
Fax: 301-314-9661               

Faculty Director, Earth, Life & Time Program, College Park Scholars
http://www.geol.umd.edu/~jmerck/eltsite/
Fax: 301-405-0796

Mailing Address:        Thomas R. Holtz, Jr.
                        Department of Geology
                        Building 237, Room 1117
                        University of Maryland
                        College Park, MD 20742 USA