Re: Questions on Opisthocoelicaudia

[<TWILLIAMS@canr1.cag.uconn.edu>]

> 
> The family Nemegtosauridae was, I believe, named when it was generally
> accepted that these animals were close relatives of diplodocids.  However,
> the (few) illustrations I have seen of confirmed titanosaur skulls look
> strikingly like that of _Nemegtosaurus_, and this has been observed by
> others as well,

Which titanosaur skulls?  The only one I can think of that might 
look like that of _Nemegtosaurus_ is the skull of _Antarctosaurus 
wichmannianus_.  Aside from the fact that some authors 
(Upchurch, and maybe McIntosh too) question whether _A. 
wichmannianus_ is really a titanosaurid, the skull known for this 
species is not in excellent condition and (like that of _Nemegto_) is 
open to interpretation on how it was really constructed.  The partial 
skull known for _Malawisaurus_ is not at all like that of 
_Nemegtosaurus_, nor like that of any diplodocoid.

I keep on hearing about a nicely-preserved skull of a definite 
titanosaurid that was found somewhere in South America, relatively 
recently.  Can anyone confirm?


Tim