[dinosaur] Yamanasaurus, new titanosaur from Cretaceous of Ecuador

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper:

Yamanasaurus lojaensis gen. et sp. nov.

Sebastián Apesteguía, John E. Soto Luzuriaga, Pablo A. Gallina, José Tamay
Granda & Galo A. Guamán Jaramillo (2019)
The first dinosaur remains from the Cretaceous of Ecuador.
Cretaceous Research, Article 104345 (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1016_j.cretres.2019.104345&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=XEwIctqV619ul6fpsumVt4KC3GddZq-Pb_viG_daHxI&s=AUHIal0kMGLE5SCvC7JkUMT4h6AdcnD9tFBl3_RVzuw&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.sciencedirect.com_science_article_pii_S0195667119303027&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=XEwIctqV619ul6fpsumVt4KC3GddZq-Pb_viG_daHxI&s=JWe0ywweLQJ_-zd3p7jfUm90gpAozYZq7GG3pFk-2wA&e= 


Yamanasaurus lojaensis gen. et sp. nov. is a new titanosaur (Saurischia,
Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Alamor-Lancones Basin, southern
Ecuador. The fossil remains were found in rocks of the Río Playas
Formation, which is regarded as Campanian-Maastrichtian in age. Remains
include a partial sacrum, a partial mid-caudal vertebra, and several
associated limb bones. Yamanasaurus is characterized by: (1) anterior to
mid-caudal vertebrae with a dorsoventrally compressed condyle, with the
posterior tip elevated respect to the midline, no longitudinal ventral
ridge, and spongy inner structure with absence of internal cavities (i.e.,
camellate bone, shared with Neuquensaurus); (2) last sacral centrum as long
as tall, with small ovoid, shallow blind fossa on the lateral side; and (3)
radius robust with flattened diaphysis and a marked neck or cingulum right
under the epiphysis, with an heptagonal concave proximal surface.
Morphology, size, and age suggest that Yamanasaurus is closely related to
Neuquensaurus, being the northernmost saltasaurine known by far.