Re: The 'gypsy' dinosaur (was Re: new titanosaur: Atsinganosaurus velauciensis)

[Zach Armstrong <zach.armstrong64@yahoo.com>]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anybody has a PDF copy of this paper they would be willing 
to 
send me?

Thanks in advance,

Zach



----- Original Message ----
From: Tim Williams <tijawi@yahoo.com>
To: dinosaur@usc.edu
Cc: tijawi@yahoo.com
Sent: Thu, July 1, 2010 10:22:43 PM
Subject: The 'gypsy' dinosaur (was Re: new titanosaur: Atsinganosaurus 
velauciensis)

The message was truncated when it arrived in my mailbox, but here are the 
details...


Garcia, G., Amico, S., Fournier, F., Thouand, E., and Valentin, X. (2010) A new 
titanosaur genus (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of southern 
France and its paleobiogeographic implications.  Bull. Soc. géol. Fr. 181: 
269-277.


Abstract. "A new titanosaur, _Atsinganosaurus velauciensis_, gen. and sp. nov. 
is described from well-preserved remains from the new Upper Cretaceous locality 
of Velaux-La Bastide Neuve (Aix-en-Provence Basin, France).  This taxon is 
mainly diagnosed by a combination of characters, which differentiates it 
without 
ambiguity from other European Late Cretaceous taxa (_Lirainosaurus_, 
_Ampelosaurus_ and _Magyarosaurus_).  _Atsinganosaurus_ confirms the presence 
in 
western Europe during the latest Cretaceous of a third titanosaurian species, 
slender and less derived which allows us to better understand the evolutionary 
and paleobiogeographical history of this group during the Cretaceous."


The genus name derives from the Byzantine Greek word for "gypsy", 'atsinganos' 
(which still survives in many languages in one form or another, e.g. 
"tsigani").  When the Byzantines came up with the word, it may not have been at 
all complimentary - the word 'atsinganos' is supposed to mean 'untouchable' or 
'heathen'.  The gypsies (Roma) were regarded as foreign heretics by the 
medieval 
Byzantines.  Then again, the Byzantines were a tendentious and narrow-minded 
bunch, always banging on about heretics and heathens.  Anyway...


The specific name is in honor of the French city of Velaux (Latin Velaucio) 
from 
where the material was collect
Cretaceous, it was part of a 
large Iberian-Armorican island (up to three times the size of modern 
Madagascar).


In any case, the name _Atsinganosaurus_ ("gypsy reptile") is "in reference to 
the existence of Late Cretaceous migrations between western and eastern Europe 
revealed by these remains."  Although there is no phylogenetic analysis, the 
authors su
osaurus_ might be closely related to _Malawisaurus_; the two are quite similar 
in many respects.  If so, _Atsinganosaurus_ documents the survival of basal 
lithostrotians late into the Cretaceous (late Campanian), which the authors 
suggest might have something to do with its island habitat.


Cheers

Tim


--- On Thu, 1/7/10, Ignacio Ruiz <jigruiz@gmail.com> wrote:

> From: Ignacio Ruiz <jigruiz@gmail.com>
> Subject: new titanosaur: Atsinganosaurus velauciensis
> To: dinosaur@usc.edu
> Received: Thursday, 1 July, 2010, 5:09 AM
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