[dinosaur] Europasaurus (Sauropoda) appendicular skeleton described

Ben Creisler
[email protected]

A new paper:


Jose Luis Carballido, Michael Scheil, Nils Knötschke & P. Martin Sander
(2019)
The appendicular skeleton of the dwarf macronarian sauropod Europasaurus
holgeri from the Late Jurassic of Germany and a re-evaluation of its
systematic affinities.
Journal of Systematic Palaeontology (advance online publication)
doi: https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__doi.org_10.1080_14772019.2019.1683770&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=PDDODGy-vxmMChPSCR0oS2OgYI1bsTGeuilOcUfblbs&s=AkSIBp2zzVF6WE8rWtEj6YFSQaLnvSJ-VwVEF9ONpqs&e= 
https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__www.tandfonline.com_doi_full_10.1080_14772019.2019.1683770&d=DwIFaQ&c=clK7kQUTWtAVEOVIgvi0NU5BOUHhpN0H8p7CSfnc_gI&r=Ry_mO4IFaUmGof_Yl9MyZgecRCKHn5g4z1CYJgFW9SI&m=PDDODGy-vxmMChPSCR0oS2OgYI1bsTGeuilOcUfblbs&s=nJNG7DOX3bQWwkqJdUfiaKwegoie0KFjEVcmTQl4nfU&e= 


The Late Jurassic was a period of great diversity for sauropod dinosaurs,
with different lineages of Neosauropoda flourishing, including several
camarasauromorph taxa. Efforts made in recent years have resulted in a
great increase in our current knowledge of basal camarasauromorph
evolution, including both the detailed description of new and previously
poorly known sauropods and expanded phylogenetic analyses. Although most
recent phylogenies converge in their results on early camarasauromorph
diversification, the phylogenetic position of Europasaurus, from the Late
Jurassic of Germany, remains controversial despite the completeness of the
material representing this species. Although Europasaurus was recovered as
a relatively basal camarasauromorph in all phylogenetic analyses to date,
some of them retrieved this taxon in a slightly more derived position,
among basal brachiosaurids. Europasaurus is not only one of the most
complete camarasauromorphs but also the first unequivocal dwarf that
evolved through paedomorphosis, retaining several plesiomorphic characters,
especially in the cranium. Cranial and axial material of Europasaurus has
been described in detail but the appendicular skeleton has not. The current
paper rectifies this by providing detailed descriptions and illustrations
of its appendicular skeleton. In addition, an extensive re-evaluation of
the systematic position of Europasaurus was done based on the three most
substantial data sets published in recent years. These analyses resolved
Europasaurus as a basal camarasauromorph in all cases, but brachiosaurid
affinities remain plausible, especially considering the heterochronic
evolution of the taxon.

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