Petrobrasaurus, new Argentine titanosaur

[bh480@scn.org]

From: Ben Creisler
bh480@scn.org

I don't recall seeing this new titanosaur mentioned on 
the DML yet, although the name has appeared as a nomen 
nudum in some places. It's scheduled to be officially 
published in March 2011. The advance pdf is free at:

http://www.geologica-acta.com/pdf/vol0901a08.pdf

L. FILIPPI, J.I. CANUDO, J.L. SALGADO, A. GARRIDO, R. 
GARCIA, I. CERDA, and  A. OTERO (2011)
A new sauropod titanosaur from the Plottier Formation 
(Upper Cretaceous) of Patagonia (Argentina).
Geologica Acta 9 (1): 1-23 (March 2011)
DOI: 10.1344/105.000000???
Available online at www.geologica-acta.com


This paper presents  a new  titanosaur  sauropod,  
collected  from  levels of  reddish  clays  assigned  to  
the Plottier Formation  (Coniacian-Santonian).  The  
holotype  of  Petrobrasaurus  puestohernandezi  gen.  
et.  sp.  nov.  is  a disarticulated  specimen,  from 
which  teeth,  cervical,  dorsal  and  caudal  
vertebrae,  sternal  plates, metacarpals, femora, tibia, 
a fragment of ilium, pubis, haemal arches, and cervical 
and dorsal ribs have been preserved. This period is of 
particular interest because it saw the defnitive 
isolation of the vertebrate faunas of Patagonia, with the 
separation of South America from the rest of Gondwana, a 
process that had begun during the Early Cretaceous. 
Although  some  of  the  characters  observed  in 
Petrobrasaurus  gen.  nov.  suggest  a  relationship 
with  the South American clade Lognkosauria, this new 
sauropod is regarded as Titanosauria incertae sedis until 
a more profound analysis of the Titanosauria that in 
which it is included is undertaken.