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| Abdarainurus barsboldi Averianov & Lopatin, 2020 a fluvial palaeoenvironment of the Alagteeg Formation, with a soft-shelled turtle (Trionychidae indet.) and ankylosaurs (Pinacosaurus sp.). |
Abstract
A new sauropod, Abdarainurus barsboldi gen. et sp. nov., is described based on several anterior and one middle caudal vertebrae and chevrons from the Late Cretaceous Alagteeg Formation at Abdrant Nuru, northern Gobi Desert, Mongolia. The new taxon is characterized by 16 unique or rare characters of the caudal skeleton, including opisthocoelous centra, longitudinal ridges on the neural canal walls, postprezygapophyseal processes, a hypertrophied postspinal fossa, mediolaterally constricted neural spines, and a deep pocket-like spinodiapophyseal fossa covered laterally by high postzygodiapophyseal lamina. Our preferred phylogenetic analysis places Abdarainurus as a basal titanosaurian sauropod, but this result could be affected by inadequate knowledge of basal titanosaurs. The new taxon likely represents a highly specialized lineage of Asian macronarian sauropods that was unknown previously.
Keywords: Dinosauria, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Mongolia, Late Cretaceous
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| Hypothetical reconstruction of Abdarainurus barsboldi in a fluvial palaeoenvironment of the Alagteeg Formation, with a soft-shelled turtle (Trionychidae indet.) and ankylosaurs (Pinacosaurus sp.).
Reconstruction by Andrey Atuchin.
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Systematic palaeontology
Sauropoda Marsh, 1878
Titanosauriformes Salgado, Coria & Calvo, 1997
Titanosauria Bonaparte & Coria, 1993
incertae sedis
Abdarainurus gen. nov.
Etymology. From Abdarain Nuru, the Russian spelling for the Abdrant Nuru locality, and urus, Latinized Ancient Greek ουρά (the tail).
Abdarainurus barsboldi sp. nov.
Etymology. In honour of Mongolian palaeontologist and academician R. Barsbold.
Alexander O. Averianov and Alexey V. Lopatin. 2020. An Unusual New Sauropod Dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. DOI: 10.1080/14772019.2020.1716402
