New References

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

Wilson, J. A. 2005. Redescription of the Mongolian sauropod Nemegtosaurus 
mongolienesis Nowinski (Dinosauria: Saurischia) and comments on Late 
Cretaceous sauropod diversity. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 
3:283-318.

ABSTRACT: The isolated skulls of Nemegtosaurus mongoliensis and 
Quaesitosaurus orientalis from the Nemegt Basin of Mongolia are among the 
most complete sauropod cranial remains known from the Late Cretaceous, yet 
their evolutionary relationships to other neosauropods have remained 
uncertain. Redescription of the skull of Nemegtosaurus identifies key 
features that link it and its closely related counterpart Quaesitosaurus to 
titanosaur sauropods. These include a posterolaterally orientated quadrate 
fossa, 'rocker'-like palatobasal contact, pterygoid with reduced quadrate 
flange and a novel basisphenoid-quadrate contact. Other features are 
exclusive to Nemegtosaurus and Quaesitosaurus, such as the presence of a 
symphyseal eminence on the external aspect of the premaxillae, a highly 
vascularised tooth bearing portion of the maxilla, an enclosed 'maxillary 
canal', orbital ornamentation on the postorbital, prefrontal and frontal, 
exclusion of the squamosal from the supratemporal fenestra and dentary teeth 
smaller in diameter than premaxillary and maxillary teeth.
   Re-examination of Late Cretaceous sauropod distributions in the light of 
this well-supported phylogenetic hypothesis has important implications for 
their diversity at the end of the Mesozoic in Asia and elsewhere. Cretaceous 
Asian sauropod faunas consist solely of titanosauriforms, which probably 
migrated there from other landmasses during the Late Jurassic, during which 
time neosauropods were absent from Asia. Globally, narrow-crowned 
titanosaurs and rebbachisaurids radiated during the Cretaceous, but only 
titanosaurs survived into the latest Cretaceous. These late-surviving 
sauropods flourished on most continental landmasses until the end of the 
Maastrichtian.



Wilson, J. A., Malkani, M. S., and Gingerich, P. D. 2005. A sauropod 
braincase from the Pab Formation (Upper Cretaceous, Maastrichtian) of 
Balochistan, Pakistan. Gondwana Geological Magazine, Special Volume 
8:101-109.

ABSTRACT:  Recent geological and paleontological exploration in the Pab 
Formation (Upper Cretaceous) of Balochistan Province has uncovered new 
terrestrial vertebrate remains. Together with Cretaceous vertebrates from 
India, the Pab vertebrates provide information about the paleobiogeographic 
history of Indo-Pakistan during its northward migration towards Asia. 
Vertebrate remains collected from several localities in the Pab Formation 
include numerous, isolated postcranial bones attributable to titanosaur
sauropods and a well-preserved sauropod braincase that is described here.
   The Pab braincase is referable to Eusauropoda, but it does not preserve 
characteristics diagnostic of lower level sauropod clades. The Pab braincase 
is relatively
small and diagnosed by a prominent supraoccipital wedge, pronounced 
proatlantal facets, and a ventrally deflected occipital condyle that forms a 
120° angle with
the skull roof. Sauropod braincase material collected from Lameta Formation 
localities in India (Bara Simla, Dongargaon) closely resembles the Pab 
braincase in size and general morphology and shares one or more of its 
diagnostic features. The Indian and Pakistani braincases likely represent 
the same genus or species, which was distributed across Indo-Pakistan during 
the Cretaceous. Further exploration in both countries will better constrain 
the distribution of these and other vertebrate fossils, providing a clearer 
picture of the Cretaceous vertebrate fauna of Indo-Pakistan.


Bojar, A.-V., Grigorescu, D., Ottner, F., and Csiki, Z. 2005. 
Palaeoenvironmental interpretation of dinosaur- and mammal-bearing 
continental Maastrichtian deposits, Hateg Basin, Romania. Geological 
Quarterly 49:205-222.


Dalla Vecchia, F. M., Morgante, G., and Raponi, D. 2005. Le orme di 
dinosauro nel Cretaceo dei M. Lepini (Latina, Lazio Meridionale) le abbiamo 
scoperte noi. (We discovered the dinosaur footprints in the Cretaceous of 
Mts. Lepini, Latium Region, Italy!) Natura Nascosta 30:8-15.


Dalla Vecchia, F. M. 2005. Un viaggio geo-paleontologico in Marocco (A 
geopaleontological trip to Morocco). Natura Nascosta 30:16-44.

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

An expert is a man who has made all
the mistakes that can be made in a very
narrow field. -- Niels Bohr

After one look at this planet any visitor
from outer space would say "I want to
see the manager." -- William Burroughs