Fossils Explained 83: Diversity of skull morphology in the Titanosauria

Abstract

Titanosaurs were a globally distributed group of sauropod dinosaurs. They had diverse forms and a wide-gauge stance, with a few of their species reaching immense sizes, such as Argentinosaurus huinculensis and Patagotitan mayorum (reaching >35 m in length). There are about 100 valid titanosaur species known so far, but most of the originally described species are no longer valid, due to the incomplete nature of fossil materials. Our understanding of titanosaur skull morphology is based on very few incomplete fragmented cranial materials and findings of the complete skull are even rarer. Understanding the skull morphology of extinct animals helps palaeontologists make deductions of feeding mechanisms and also provide an idea about their appearance when they were alive. Diversity in titanosaur skull morphology is greater than that of any other sauropod clade, indicating diversity in feeding mechanism among these dinosaurs. Titanosaurs were the last surviving clade of sauropod dinosaurs, occupying nearly every ecological niche around the world during the Late Cretaceous, and resulting in a rich diversity in this group. This article highlights diversity in the basic structure of sauropods with special emphasis on titanosaur skull morphology.