Abstract
Diplodocids are by far the most emblematic sauropod dinosaurs. They are part of Diplodocoidea, a vast clade whose other members are well-known from Jurassic and Cretaceous strata in Africa, Europe, North and South America. However, Diplodocids were never certainly recognized from the Cretaceous or in any other southern land mass besides Africa. Here we report a new sauropod, Leikupal laticauda gen. et sp. nov., from the early Lower Cretaceous (Bajada Colorada Formation) of Neuquén Province, Patagonia, Argentina. This taxon differs from any other sauropod by the presence of anterior caudal transverse process extremely developed with lateroventral expansions reinforced by robust dorsal and ventral bars, very robust centroprezygapophyseal lamina in anterior caudal vertebra and paired pneumatic fossae on the postzygapophyses in anterior-most caudal vertebra. The phylogenetic analyses support its position not only within Diplodocidae but also as a member of Diplodocinae, clustering together with the African form Tornieria, pushing the origin of Diplodocoidea to the Middle Jurassic or even earlier. The new discovery represents the first record of a diplodocid for South America and the stratigraphically youngest record of this clade anywhere.
Highlights
As Tyrannosaurus rex is for theropods, Diplodocus [1,2,3,4] and Apatosaurus [5,6,7,8] are by far the most emblematic sauropod dinosaurs
Phylogenetic analysis The data matrices used are based on previously published neosauropod phylogenies which focused on Diplodocoidea [21] and Diplodocidae [22] relationships, with the addition of this new taxon
Lati, from latus, wide, and cauda, tail, in Latin words, refer to the broad tail evidenced by the lateral extension of the transverse processes in proximal caudal vertebrae
Summary
As Tyrannosaurus rex is for theropods, Diplodocus [1,2,3,4] and Apatosaurus [5,6,7,8] are by far the most emblematic sauropod dinosaurs They are known from nearly complete skeletons found during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in North America. Both genera bear elongated and biconvex distal caudal vertebrae, and anteroposteriorly extended skulls with narrow teeth restricted to the distal snout [9] These taxa are members of the Diplodocidae, a family recorded in Late Jurassic strata from North America, Europe, and Africa [10]. Diplodocids were not recorded from any other southern land mass besides Africa, their occurrence in South America was potentially expected [10,11]
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