Open Paleo

Saltasaurinae

Powell, 1992 Type genus Saltasaurus

Its genera lived 85.7–66.0 million years ago Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Saltasaurinae is a subfamily of titanosaurian sauropods from the Late Cretaceous, ranging from the early Campanian to the Maastrichtian, roughly 80 to 66 million years ago. Its members are among the smallest of the sauropods, retaining the group's characteristic small head, long neck, four columnar limbs, and long tail while spanning from forms only about 5.7 meters long to the larger Neuquensaurus at around 15 meters. The core South American genera include Neuquensaurus, Saltasaurus, Rocasaurus, and Bonatitan, with additional members such as Ibirania and outliers like Jainosaurus of India and Abditosaurus of Europe extending the group beyond its South American heartland. Saltasaurines are the only sauropods in which nearly every species is known to bear body armor, a dense covering of large keeled osteoderms set among numerous small bony ossicles that likely evolved as defense against predatory theropods such as Abelisaurus and Carnotaurus. They also share strongly procoelous tail vertebrae and reduced dorsal neural spines, and they include the tribe Saltasaurini, which groups the type genus with its closest relatives.

Diagnosis

  1. Dermal armor of large keeled osteoderms set among numerous small ossicles
  2. Strongly procoelous caudal vertebrae with anteriorly displaced neural arches
  3. Posterior dorsal vertebrae with reduced, posteriorly inclined neural spines
  4. Small body size

Genera placed directly in Saltasaurinae

  • Bonatitan Martinelli & Forasiepi, 2004 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Argentina
  • Ibirania Navarro et al., 2022 Santonian–Campanian (85.7–72.2 Ma)Brazil
  • Neuquensaurus Powell, 1992 Santonian (85.7–83.6 Ma)Argentina
  • Rocasaurus Salgado & Azpilicueta, 2000 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Argentina
  • Saltasaurus Bonaparte & Powell, 1980 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Argentina
  • Yamanasaurus Apesteguía et al., 2020 Maastrichtian (72.2–66.0 Ma)Ecuador

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.

    powell1992a
  2. 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 Saltasaurinae as all saltasaurids closer to Saltasaurus loricatus than to Opisthocoelicaudia skarzynskii, crediting the name to Bonaparte and Powell (1980).

    wilson2003b
  3. Bonaparte, J. F.; Powell, J. E. (1980). A continental assemblage of tetrapods from the Upper Cretaceous beds of El Brete, northwestern Argentina (Sauropoda-Coelurosauria-Carnosauria-Aves). Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France, Nouvelle Série 139: 19-28.

    Credited with the name Saltasaurinae by Wilson and Upchurch (2003).

    bonaparte1980a