RE: Razanandrongobe sakalavae

[noble22@verizon.net]

If anyone has a copy of this paper in pdf format that they could pass on to me, 
it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!


>From: Tim Williams <twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com>
>Date: Mon Mar 20 11:28:19 CST 2006
>To: dinosaur@usc.edu
>Subject: RE: Razanandrongobe sakalavae

>Marco Auditore wrote:
>
>>Maganuco S., Dal Sasso C., and Pasini G., 2006 - A new large predatory 
>>archosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar, with remarks on its 
>>affinities and paleobiology. Atti della Società Italiana di Scienze 
>>Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale in Milano, 147 (I): 19-51.
>
>The material comes from the Isalo IIIb subunit of the Mahajunga basin, dated 
>to Bathonian, near Ambondromamy in NW Madagascar.
>
>"Systematic Paleontology
>Archosauromorpha Huene, 1946
>Archosauriformes Gauthier, Kluge & Rowe, 1988
>Archosauria Cope, 1869 sensu Gauthier, 1986
>_Razanandrongobe sakalavae_, gen. et sp. nov.
>
>Holotype: MSNM V5770 Fragmentary right maxilla bearing three unerupted 
>teeth.
>Referred material: MSNM V5771-5777, isolated teeth.
>
>Etymology: _Razanandrongobe_, Malagasy composite name for ?ancestor? 
>(Razana-) of the ?large? (-be) ?lizard? (-androngo-); sakalavae, Latin for 
>?of Sakalava?, the ethnic group that inhabits the Mahajanga region.
>
>Diagnosis: large predatory archosaur with deep, robust maxilla bearing a 
>prominent maxillary medial shelf; thecodont tooth implantation; alveolar 
>channels nearly straight in the sagittal plane; alveoli (as preserved) 
>sub-rectangular in ventral view; fused interdental plates with a surface 
>texture consisting of marked ridges and furrows extending for a short 
>distance also above the dorsal margin of the interdental plates; heterodont 
>dentition; incisiform rostral teeth, U-shaped in cross-section; stout 
>lateral teeth, sub-oval in cross-section; smallest lateral teeth, 
>globe-shaped; denticles present on both carinae in all the teeth, and very 
>large (0.8- 1.4 per mm) (unambiguous autapomorphy of the taxon)."
>
>The paper goes on to say that _Razanandrongobe_ is either a crocodylomorph 
>or a theropod ("Although _R. sakalavae_ differs in some aspects from any 
>currently known member of the Crocodylomorpha and Theropoda, it belongs 
>certainly to one of those two taxa.")  The preserved maxillary fragment is 
>192 mm long, 124 mm high, and 96 mm wide, and the authors suggest that 
>_Razanandrongobe_ might have been of a similar size to either _Sarcosuchus_  
>(if a crocodylomorph) or _Daspletosaurus_ (if a theropod).  In other words, 
>pretty darn big either way.  _Razanandrongobe_ was clearly a carnivore, with 
>the teething show some similarities to those of tyrannosaurids (but not 
>enough to indicate a close phylogenetic relationship, just a similar mode of 
>predatory behavior), and indicating it could chomp on bone and tendons.  
>_Razanandrongobe_ may have fed on sympatric sauropods such as 
>_Lapparentosaurus_ and _Archaeodontosaurus_, say the authors.
>
>Thanks to Simon Maganuco for a copy of the paper.
>
>>Abstract ­ Here we report on the finding of new vertebrate remains from the 
>>Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) of the Mahajanga basin, NW Madagascar, that 
>>represent one of the largest predatory archosaurs from Gondwana. The 
>>remains consist of a fragmentary right maxilla bearing three teeth and 
>>seven isolated teeth that clearly belong to a single taxon. Although the 
>>scarcity of the remains renders
>>establishment of affinities difficult, the presence of a unique combination 
>>of features including a well developed medial shelf of the maxilla, rostral 
>>and lateral teeth respectively U-shaped and sub-oval in cross-section, and 
>>very large tooth denticles (1 per mm), allows us to erect a new taxon, 
>>Razanandrongobe
>>sakalavae. Additionally, the structure of the teeth, the peculiar wear of 
>>their enamel, and the morphology of the maxilla strongly suggest that 
>>Razanandrongobe sakalavae often crushed the bones of its prey.