[dinosaur] Macrocollum (Triassic sauropodomorph) craniomandibular osteology

Ben Creisler
[email protected]


A new paper:


Rodrigo Temp Müller  (2019)
Craniomandibular osteology of Macrocollum itaquii (Dinosauria:
Sauropodomorpha) from the Late Triassic of southern Brazil.
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1080_14772019.2019.1683902&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=uxkIqCzPsXpzhNKfNMU0fiYd87klBCD4O_v7v-4KCu0&s=m5bFQ6Qot6sLJgM5Mi5q1rfu1PWTyBHKMCYyX3cKpaQ&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tandfonline.com_doi_full_10.1080_14772019.2019.1683902&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=uxkIqCzPsXpzhNKfNMU0fiYd87klBCD4O_v7v-4KCu0&s=sTqb_W2RwG1Ik3NlROuYL_yro_erfBxusP47gd8qU2g&e= 


Several new sauropodomorphs have been described in recent years, including
the unaysaurid sauropodomorph Macrocollum itaquii (Late Triassic, Brazil).
This study presents a detailed description of the craniomandibular anatomy
of M. itaquii based on the holotype, a paratype and a newly referred
specimen. A phylogenetic analysis using an updated dataset is performed to
test a previous hypothesis regarding the affinities of this taxon and its
potential influence in the phylogeny of Triassic and Early Jurassic
sauropodomorphs. The taxon is supported as a member of Unaysauridae. This
clade is recovered as the basal-most group within Massopoda rather than the
sister group to Plateosauria. However, the position of M. itaquii (and
unaysaurids) is likely to be highly labile due to specific, transitional
aspects of its anatomy. The most recently discovered M. itaquii specimen,
in conjunction with other newly discovered specimens, serve to elucidate
the transition from slender basal sauropodomorphs to more robust derived
members within this group.

====