Planet of the New Papers

["Jerry D. Harris" <jharris@dixie.edu>]

Hi All -

   More new goodies!  First, I now have a list of the papers that were 
published last year in the _Actas de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre 
Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno_; I only have two of these as PDFs 
(the two with abstracts quoted below).  No new taxa erected that I could 
see, though lots of interesting tidbits and lots of track stuff:


Benton, M.J. 2006. The origin of the dinosaurs; pp. 11-19 in Colectivo 
Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas 
Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno. Colectivo 
Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas de los Infantes, Burgos.

ABSTRACT: he origin of the dinosaurs has long been debated. There are two 
aspects, phylogenetic and ecological-evolutionary. Much of the phylogenetic 
confusion has been resolved by cladistic analysis of basal archosaurs which 
shows that the dinosaurs originated as part of a major clade 
Avemetatarsalia/ Ornithodira. Closest relatives of the dinosaurs are small 
Mid Triassic bipedal animals such as Marasuchus from Argentina. The basal 
avemetatarsalian is Scleromochlus from the Late Triassic of Scotland. The 
classic ecological-evolutionary model for the initial radiation of the 
dinosaurs had been that they competed gradually through the Triassic with 
precursor groups, and eventually prevailed. More detailed study of the 
timing of events suggests that the dinosaurs radiated opportunistically in a 
two-phase model, with expansion of herbivorous sauropodomorphs fi rst in the 
early Norian, and expansion of large theropods and ornithischians in the 
Early and Mid Jurassic. Both expansion phases followed extinction events.

Canudo, J.I. 2006. La ambigüedad paleobiogeográfia de los dinosaurios 
ibéricos durante el Cretácico Inferior; pp. 21-45 in Colectivo 
Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas 
Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Martill, D.M., Naish, D., and Earland, S. 2006. Dinosaurs in marine strata: 
evidence from the British Jurassic, including a review of the allochthonous 
vertebrate assemblage from the marine Kimmeridge Clay Formation (Upper 
Jurassic) of Great Britain; pp. 47-83 in Colectivo 
Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas 
Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Pereda Suberbiola, X. 2006. El dinosaurio acorazado Polacanthus del 
Cretácico Inferior de Europa y el estatus de los Polacanthidae 
(Ankylosauria); pp. 85-104 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas 
(ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de 
Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Fernández-Baldor, F.T. 2006. Restos directos de dinosaurios en Burgos 
(Sistema Ibérico): un balance provisional; pp. 105-128 in Colectivo 
Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas  (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas 
Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Weishampel, D.B. 2006. Another look at the dinosaurs of the East Coast of 
North America; pp. 129-168 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas 
(ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de 
Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Wilson, J.A. 2006. An overview of titanosaur evolution and phylogeny; pp. 
169-190 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas (ed.), Actas de 
las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su 
Entorno.

ABSTRACT: Titanosaurus was named in 1877 for two caudal vertebrae and an 
isolated femur from Cretaceous rocks of central India. Titanosauridae was 
coined soon afterwards to encompass numerous taxa, despite their often 
tenuous associations and limited morphological overlap. Long recognized as 
wastebasket taxa, "Titanosaurus indicus", "Titanosauridae" and coordinated 
rank-taxa are now considered invalid, but the unranked taxon Titanosauria 
remains valid. Titanosauria currentles includes 40+ species and fi rst 
appeared during the Middle Jurassic in the form of "wide-gauge" trackways. 
Titanosaur body fossils do not appear until the Late Jurassic, but they are 
inferred to have occupied nearly all continental landmasses during the Early 
Cretaceous. Titanosaurs are the predominant or exclusive sauropods during 
the Late Cretaceous and represent a key clade for investigation of 
survivorship patterns and the effects of major tectonic rearrangements on 
dinosaur evolution. Titanosauria includes several large-bodied species 
(e.g., Antarctosaurus giganteus, Argyrosaurus superbus, Argentinosaurus 
huinculensis), as well as species that are diminutive by sauropod standards 
(e.g., Saltasaurus loricatus, Neuquensaurus australis).
Evaluation of previous phylogenetic analyses of Titanosauria provides 
insight into the structure of the character data thus far generated and a 
starting point for future studies. Where comparable, analyses agree on 
several topological points, including (1) the basal position of Andesaurus 
and Malawisaurus and (2) the derived position of Saltasaurus, Neuquensaurus, 
Opisthocoelicaudia, and Alamosaurus. This investigation identifi es several 
stable titanosaur nodes and a core of character data for future analysis. 
However, many titanosaur species have yet to be included in a phylogenetic 
analysis. A comprehensive phylogenetic analysis of Titanosauria will require 
incorporating these taxa as well as new character data. Resolution of 
titanosaur interrelationships will spur investigation into Mesozoic 
paleobiogeography, changes in body size distribution through time, 
wide-gauge limb posture and its biomechanical signifi cance, and patterns in 
herbivorous apomorphies of Cretaceous dinosaurs. These and other avenues 
will be explored in future research.


Arcos, A., Sanz, E., Pascual, C., Uriel, S., Latorre, P., and Hernández, N. 
2006. Las deformaciones producidas en los sedimentos por el paso de grandes 
dinosaurios: el caso del yacimiento de Saurópodos de Miraflores I, Fuentes 
de Magaña (Soria, España); pp. 193-222 in Colectivo 
Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas  (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas 
Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Bravo, A.M., Huerta, P., Izqueirdo Montero, L.A., Montero Huerta, D., 
Martínez Pérez, G., Fernández-Baldor, F.T., and Urién Montero, V. 2006. Un 
nuevo yacimiento de cáscaras de huevo de dinosaurio de la provincia de 
Burgos, España (Maastrichtiense, Fm. Santibañez del Val); pp. 223-234 in 
Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas  (ed.), Actas de las III 
Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Hernández, N., Pérez-Lorente, F., and Requeta, E. 2006. La Pellejera. 
Ejemplo de nuevos yacimientos icníticos en Cameros (La Rioja-Soria, España); 
pp. 235-252 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas (ed.), Actas 
de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su 
Entorno.

Hernández Medrano, N., Arribas, C.P., Latorre Macarrón, P., and Sanz Pérez, 
E. 2006. Huellas de terópodos y pterosaurios en Valdegén I (Villar del Río, 
Soria, España); pp. 253-271 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de 
Salas  (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología 
de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Latorre Macarrón, P., Arribas, C.P., Sanz Pérez, E., and Hernández Medrano, 
N. 2006. El yacimiento con huellas de saurópodos de Miraflores I, Fuentes de 
Magaña (Soria, España); pp. 273-296 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico 
de Salas  (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre 
Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Cuadrado, J.M. 2006. Posibles huellas de saurópodo del Sinemuriense de 
Talveila (Soria, España); pp. 297-311 in Colectivo 
Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas  (ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas 
Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Fernández-Baldor, F.T., Izquierdo Montero, L.A., Huerta, P., Montero Huerta, 
D., Pérez Martínez, G., and Urién Montero, V. 2006. El yacimiento de icnitas 
de dinsoaurios de Costalomo (Salas de los Infantes, Burgos, España): nuevos 
datos; pp. 313-347 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas (ed.), 
Actas de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios 
y su Entorno.

Fernández-Baldor, F.T., Izquierdo Montero, L.A., Contreras Izquierdo, R., 
Huerta, P., Montero Huerta, D., Pérez Martínez, G., and Urién Montero, V. 
2006. Un dinosaurio 'iguanodóntido' del Cretácico Inferior de Burgos 
(España); pp. 349-363 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas 
(ed.), Actas de las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de 
Dinosaurios y su Entorno.

Vila, B., Gaete, R., Galobart, À., Oms, O., Peralba, J., and Escuer, J. 
2006. Nuevos hallazgos de dinosaurios y otros tetrápodos continentales en 
los Pirineos sur-centrales y orientales: resultados preliminares; pp. 
365-378 in Colectivo Arqueológico-Paleontológico de Salas (ed.), Actas de 
las III Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su 
Entorno.


The Benton paper is available at 
http://palaeo.gly.bris.ac.uk/Benton/reprints/2006Salas.pdf; the Wilson paper 
at 
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~wilsonja/JAW/Publications_files/Wilson2006b.pdf.



Next, Mike already chastized my lapsus calami in not spotting 
_Paluxysaurus_, but there's a Jurassic mammal paper in the same ish of PE:

Prasad, G.V.R., and Manhas, B.K. 2007. A new docodont mammal from the 
Jurassic Kota Formation of India. Palaeontologica Electronica 10(2):7A1-11.

ABSTRACT: The late Middle Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous Kota Formation of 
peninsular India has previously yielded "symmetrodontan" and eutriconodontan 
mammals. Bulk screenwashing of the clays and mudstones interbedded with the 
limestone band representing the Upper Member of the Kota Formation and 
exposed along a stream cutting 150 m west of Paikasigudem village, Adilabad 
District, Andhra Pradesh, India, produced an isolated mammalian upper 
premolar. The premolar with its asymmetrical occlusal outline, two labial 
cusps, pinching of crown lingual to the labial cusps, and a wide talon basin 
is very similar to the upper premolars of docodont mammals. Detailed 
comparisons with the upper dentition of various known docodont taxa showed 
that the new specimen from India has premolar morphology comparable to a 
Haldanodon pattern, and here it is assigned to Gondtherium dattai gen. et 
sp. nov. (Docodontidae). This represents the first discovery of docodont 
mammals from the Southern Hemisphere and suggests a wide geographic 
distribution for this group of mammals.


Particularly interesting because it calls the Kota Formation "Middle 
Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous"...?!?  Cited as based on palynological data from 
2001; that reference, if anyone wants it, is:

Vijaya, and Prasad, G.V.R. 2001. Age of the Kota Formation, 
Pranhita-Godavari Valley, India: a palynological approach. Journal of the 
Palaeontological Society of India 46:77-93.

Granted, there's a common author between the two, but I'm not aware of 
anyone else using this late age for the unit, and more recent stuff still 
calls it Lower Jurassic, e.g.:

Bandyopadhyay, S., and Sengupta, D.P. 2006. Vertebrate faunal turnover 
during the Triassic-Jurassic transition: an Indian scenario; pp. 77-85 in 
Harris, J.D., Lucas, S.G., Spielmann, J.A., Lockley, M.G., Milner, A.R.C., 
and Kirkland, J.I. (eds.), The Triassic-Jurassic Terrestrial Transition. New 
Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 37.



Lastly, a couple of brand-spankin' new dinosaurs, one therizinosaur, one 
hadrosaur:

Li, D., Peng, C., You, H., Lamanna, M.C., Harris, J.D., Lacovata, K.J., and 
Zhang, J. 2007. A large therizinosauroid (Dinosauria: Theropoda) from the 
Early Cretaceous of northwestern China. Acta Geologica Sinica (English 
Edition) 81(4):539-549.

ABSTRACT: We herein describe an associated partial postcranial skeleton of a 
theropod dinosaur discovered in the Lower Cretaceous Xinminpu Group of the 
Yujingzi Basin, in the Jiuquan area of Gansu Province, northwestern China. 
Features of its humerus, such as strongly expanded proximal and distal ends, 
a well developed medial tuberosity, distal condyles expressed on the humeral 
cranial surface, and a hypertrophied entepicondyle, definitively establish 
the therizinosauroid affinities of the specimen. It differs from other 
therizinosauroids in having a shallow, poorly demarcated glenoid fossa with 
a prominent rounded and striated tumescence on the dorsomedial surface of 
its scapular portion, and a pubis with a strongly concave cranial margin. It 
represents a new taxon, Suzhousaurus megatherioides gen. et sp. nov. 
Cladistic analysis recovers Suzhousaurus as the sister taxon of Nothronychus 
mckinleyi from the mid-Cretaceous of western North America; together, they 
are basal members of the Therizinosauroidea, more derived than the Early 
Cretaceous Falcarius and Beipiaosaurus but less derived than Alxasaurus and 
the Therizinosauridae. Along with "Nanshiungosaurus" bohlini from possibly 
coeval beds in the Mazongshan area of northern-most Gansu, Suzhousaurus 
represents one of the largest-known Early Cretaceous therizinosauroids, 
demonstrating that this clade attained considerable body size early in its 
evolutionary history.



Mo, J., Zhao, Z., Wang, W., and Xu, X. 2007. The first hadrosaurid dinosaur 
from southern China. Acta Geologica Sinica (English Edition) 81(4):550-554.

ABSTRACT: A new hadrosaurid dinosaur, Nanningosaurus dashiensis gen. et sp. 
nov., is described based on an incomplete skeleton from the Late Cretaceous 
red beds of the Nalong Basin, Guangxi, southern China. Diagnostic features 
for the new taxon include the presence of a tall and sharply peaked dorsal 
process of the maxilla with reduced process of the jugal and a distinct 
lacrimal facet, gracile humerus with low, rounded deltopectoral crest, 
mandibular condyle of the quadrate transversly broad with reduced 
paraquadrate notch, dentary tooth with sinuous median carina and subsidiary 
ridge, relatively few tooth positions, ischial shaft straight along most of 
its distance, but to curve dorsally and expand at the distal end before the 
ischial foot begins. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Nanningosaurus 
dashiensis is a basal member of Lambeosaurinae.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jerry D. Harris
Director of Paleontology
Dixie State College
Science Building
225 South 700 East
St. George, UT  84770   USA
Phone: (435) 652-7758
Fax: (435) 656-4022
E-mail: jharris@dixie.edu
and     dinogami@gmail.com
http://cactus.dixie.edu/jharris/

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