Re: [dinosaur] Colossosauria and titanosaur limbs and feet + dinosaur genomes

[Tim Williams <tijawi@gmail.com>]

Colossosauria is an eminently memorable name for a clade of
non-saltasaurid titanosaurs.  (Sometimes good names do happen.)   As
far as I can tell, the genus name "Colossosaurus" is still available -
should anyone choose to use it for a future member of this clade.
It's happened before: the ceratopsian genus _Coronosaurus_ was named
later than the clade Coronosauria to which it belongs.

There is a story (recounted in "The Complete Dinosaur", among other
sources) that Gideon Mantell initially considered naming a dinosaur
"Colossosaurus" in 1849.  However, after receiving advice from
Reverend Charles Pritchard, he instead decided upon the name
_Pelorosaurus_ (published 1850).  Mantell wanted a name that denoted
huge body size.  But Pritchard advised Mantell that the word
'colossus' (kolossos) simply meant 'statue', so "Colossosaurus" wasn't
a good choice; he suggested "Pelorosaurus" instead (based on 'pelor'
meaning monster).

However, maybe the Rev. Pritchard knew more than I do, but it's my
understanding that colossus/kolossos refers to a very large statue,
not just to *any* statue.  Hence the Colossus of Rhodes, one of the
ancient wonders of the world; and the Colosseum (Flavian
Amphitheater), reputedly named after a giant statue of Nero nearby
(not the size of the amphitheater itself).  So Colossosaurus would
have been apt as a genus name for a large sauropod - just as
Colossosauria is an appropriate choice for a clade that includes
"gigantic" dinosaurs.


On Wed, Jul 17, 2019 at 6:05 AM Ben Creisler <bcreisler@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>
> Ben Creisler
> bcreisler@gmail.com
>
> Some recent dinosaur items...
>
> This paper has been mentioned in abstract form for some time at this link:
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.conicet.gov.ar_new-5Fscp_detalle.php-3Fkeywords-3Dcheli-2520german-26id-3D32644-26articulos-3Dyes-26detalles-3Dyes-26art-5Fid-3D7744413&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SXAR8ZhKr1RmtiNJBA8p5KFYtO8IKJQq9kCwdO893y4&s=5W0tA5i-TAKVPQtp9xJGIyQKvq5hkAek0lVIyQrPyVk&e=
>  
>
> More recently,  the full text has been added to Research Gate, with apparent 
> free access to all. It will eventually be posted in the open access journal 
> Academia Brasileira de Ciencias.
>
> Pending the official online publication, here is the free RG link:
>
> Bernardo J. GonzÃlez Riga, Matthew C. Lamanna, Alejandro Otero, Leonardo D. 
> Ortiz David, Alexander W.A. Kellner and Lucio M. Ibiricu (2019)
> An overview of the appendicular skeletal anatomy of South American 
> titanosaurian sauropods, with definition of a newly recognized clade.
> Academia Brasileira de CiÃncias 91(Supp. 2): e20180374
> doi: 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__dx.doi.org_10.1590_0001-2D3765201920180374&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SXAR8ZhKr1RmtiNJBA8p5KFYtO8IKJQq9kCwdO893y4&s=3BO57omwsz46Yff9xOF3AsJiJrNDEYQhSZVOgyg_qYc&e=
>  
>
> Research Gate:
>
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.researchgate.net_publication_334272592-5FAn-5Foverview-5Fof-5Fthe-5Fappendicular-5Fskeletal-5Fanatomy-5Fof-5FSouth-5FAmerican-5Ftitanosaurian-5Fsauropods-5Fwith-5Fdefinition-5Fof-5Fa-5Fnewly-5Frecognized-5Fclade&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SXAR8ZhKr1RmtiNJBA8p5KFYtO8IKJQq9kCwdO893y4&s=tsagYluU2ps100gud4dmswfPo0XYRwmB6Sx86rtBp0Q&e=
>  
>
>
> In the last two decades, the number of phylogenetically informative 
> anatomical characters recognized in the appendicular skeleton of 
> titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs has increased dramatically with the 
> discovery of new and comparatively complete specimens. The appendicular 
> skeletal diversity of South American titanosaurs is substantially greater 
> than was initially appreciated. Moreover, some regions of the appendicular 
> skeleton, such as the pes, exhibit remarkable variability in form. Multiple 
> synapomorphies of Titanosauria and the less inclusive clades Lithostrotia and 
> Saltasauridae consist of characters of the girdles and limbs, although some 
> of these cannot be entirely separated from the acquisition of very large body 
> size. Although the phylogenetic definitions of titanosaurian clades such as 
> Saltasaurinae and Lognkosauria are stable, the taxonomic content of these 
> clades has varied in recent analyses depending on the phylogenetic topology 
> recovered. Within Titanosauria, the results of fourrecent, independent 
> analyses support the existence of a derived titanosaurian lineage distinct 
> from the ?Saltasaurinae line?, which is herein termed Colossosauria. At 
> present, this clade is mainly comprised for taxa of Lognkosauria and 
> Rinconsauria, and is useful in discussions of titanosaurian lower-level 
> relationships.
>
> ====
>
> Darren K. Griffin, Denis M. Larkin & Rebecca E. O'Connor (2019)
> Jurassic Park: What Did the Genomes of Dinosaurs Look Like?
> In: Kraus R. (eds) Avian Genomics in Ecology and Evolution. Springer, Cham: 
> 331-348
> DOI: 
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1007_978-2D3-2D030-2D16477-2D5-5F11&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SXAR8ZhKr1RmtiNJBA8p5KFYtO8IKJQq9kCwdO893y4&s=rp_BiidF5dWNv_d4hhubK7ClkV97jLl02GxwDNzatBk&e=
>  
> https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__link.springer.com_chapter_10.1007_978-2D3-2D030-2D16477-2D5-5F11&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=SXAR8ZhKr1RmtiNJBA8p5KFYtO8IKJQq9kCwdO893y4&s=PUBVPfXHW5tHpAwAkfjsp76G5k5DujfCJRQWHXUUEoE&e=
>  
>
>
> Recent palaeontological evidence is clear that birds are extant dinosaurs. 
> Evolving along the lineage 
> Diapsida--Archelosauria--Archosauria--Avemetatarsalia--Dinosauria--Ornithoscelida--Theropoda--Maniraptora--Avialae,
>  birds are the latest example of dinosaurs emerging from catastrophic 
> extinction events as speciose and diverse. Indeed, rather than being wiped 
> out by the Cretaceous-Paleogene meteor strike, they are the survivors of at 
> least three extinction events. Dinosaurs capture the public imagination 
> through art, literature, television and film, most recently through the 
> Jurassic Park/World franchise. Claims in the scientific literature of 
> isolating dinosaur DNA (from amber-preserved insects or elsewhere) have 
> largely been debunked. Nonetheless, the overall structure of dinosaur genomes 
> along the above lineage can be determined by inference from chromosome-level 
> genome assemblies. Our work focused first on determining the likely karyotype 
> of the avian ancestor (probably a small, bipedal, feathered, terrestrial 
> Jurassic dinosaur) finding great similarity to the chicken. We then 
> progressed to determining the likely karyotype of the diapsid ancestor and 
> the changes that have occurred to form extant animals. A combination of 
> bioinformatics and molecular cytogenetics indicates considerable 
> interchromosomal rearrangement from a "lizard-like" karyotype of 2n = 36-46 
> to one similar to that of certain turtles from 275 to 255 million years ago 
> (mya). Remarkable karyotypic similarities between some turtles and chicken 
> suggest identity by descent, in other words that, aside from ~7 fissions, 
> there were few interchromosomal changes from the archelosaur (bird-turtle) 
> ancestor to the Avemetatarsalia (dinosaurs and pterosaurs), through the 
> theropods to modern birds. Indeed, a similar rate of change beyond 255 mya 
> would have meant that the avian-like karyotype was in place about 240 mya 
> when the first dinosaurs and pterosaurs emerged. We mapped 49 
> intrachromosomal changes in the intervening period, finding significant gene 
> ontology enrichment in homologous synteny block and evolutionary breakpoint 
> regions. The avian-like karyotype with its many chromosomes provides the 
> substrate for variation (the driver of natural selection) through increased 
> random segregation and recombination. It thus may impact on the ability of 
> dinosaurs to survive and thrive, despite multiple extinction events.
>
>
>
> Virus-free. www.avg.com