Open Paleo

Saltasauridae

Powell, 1992 Type genus Saltasaurus

Its genera lived 100.5–66.0 million years ago Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Saltasauridae is a family of armored, herbivorous titanosaurian sauropods from the Late Cretaceous, known from fossils across South America, North America, Africa, Asia, and Europe. It splits into two subfamilies: the Saltasaurinae, which includes the often small and armored Saltasaurus, Neuquensaurus, and Rocasaurus, and the Opisthocoelicaudiinae, which includes larger forms such as Opisthocoelicaudia and the giant Alamosaurus. As sauropods they were quadrupeds with small heads, peg-like teeth, long necks, and counterbalancing tails, and were among the last of their kind, persisting until the very end of the Cretaceous. They are recognized by convexities in certain tail vertebrae and by distinctive markings on the coracoid bones of the shoulder. Many members bore bony scutes, or osteoderms, embedded in the skin of their backs, though such armor has not been found in every genus and its distribution across the group remains uncertain.

Diagnosis

  1. Six co-ossified sacral vertebrae
  2. Strongly procoelous caudal vertebrae with prominent distal condyles
  3. Osteoderms present, including large and small morphotypes
  4. Posterior dorsal vertebrae with reduced neural spines

Clades within Saltasauridae

Genera placed directly in Saltasauridae

  • Abditosaurus Vila et al., 2022 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Spainincertae sedisunder dispute
  • Alamosaurus Gilmore, 1922 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)United Statesincertae sedisunder dispute
  • Igai Gorscak et al., 2022 Campanian (83.6–72.2 Ma)Egypt
  • Qingxiusaurus Mo et al., 2008 Cenomanian–Maastrichtian (100.5–66.0 Ma)China

References

  1. Powell, J. E. (1992). Osteologia de Saltasaurus loricatus (Sauropoda - Titanosauridae) del Cretácico Superior del noroeste Argentino [Osteology of Saltasaurus loricatus (Sauropoda - Titanosauridae) from the Upper Cretaceous of northwest Argentina]. Los Dinosaurios y su Entorno Biótico: Actas del Segundo Curso de Paleontología en Cuenca (Sanz, J. L.; Buscalioni, A. D., eds.) 165-230. Instituto "Juan de Valdés", Cuenca.

    Named the subfamily Saltasaurinae as new, from which the family name takes its authorship by coordination.

    powell1992a
  2. Sereno, P. C. (1998). A rationale for phylogenetic definitions, with application to the higher-level taxonomy of Dinosauria. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen 210: 41-83. doi:10.1127/njgpa/210/1998/41

    Defined Saltasauridae as the node of Opisthocoelicaudia and Saltasaurus, with Saltasaurinae and Opisthocoelicaudiinae as its two stems.

    sereno1998a
  3. Wilson, J. A.; Upchurch, P. (2003). A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker (Dinosauria - Sauropoda), the first dinosaur genus with a 'Gondwanan' distribution. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 1(3): 125-160. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1017/S1477201903001044

    Defined Saltasauridae as the most recent common ancestor of Opisthocoelicaudia skarzynskii and Saltasaurus loricatus and all its descendants, adopting Sereno's node-stem triplet.

    wilson2003b