Rugocaudia, new titanosauriform from Early Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of Montana

[Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com>]

From: Ben Creisler
bcreisler@gmail.com


A new sauropod in an online article for Cretaceous Research:


D. Cary Woodruff (2012)
A new titanosauriform from the Early Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of Montana.
Cretaceous Research (advance online publication)
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2012.02.003
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195667112000110


Abstract
New material representing the northernmost titanosauriform from North
America is described from the Cloverly Formation (Aptian/Albian) of
Montana, USA. Representing a basal titanosauriform, Rugocaudia cooneyi
gen. et sp. nov., the remains consist of 18 caudal vertebral and
associated material. Possessing a combination of several unique caudal
vertebrae features, Rugocaudia appears uniquely distinct from
previously recognized North American sauropod genera. This Early
Cretaceous taxon from Montana and subsequent discovery of
titanosauriform material from Wyoming indicates a stronger Early
Cretaceous sauropod presence across the continental USA than
previously recognized. The presence of these northern latitude taxa
helps to expand the spatial distribution of Early Cretaceous sauropods
and is an additional piece of evidence to counter the claims of waning
Early Cretaceous sauropod diversity in North America.