Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation
Abstract The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and Late Jurassic. Here we report the first ever remains of a dicraeosaurid sauropod from India, Tharosaurus indicus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurass...
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| Format: | Article |
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Nature Portfolio
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2 |
| _version_ | 1797560246842949632 |
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| author | Sunil Bajpai Debajit Datta Pragya Pandey Triparna Ghosh Krishna Kumar Debasish Bhattacharya |
| author_facet | Sunil Bajpai Debajit Datta Pragya Pandey Triparna Ghosh Krishna Kumar Debasish Bhattacharya |
| author_sort | Sunil Bajpai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and Late Jurassic. Here we report the first ever remains of a dicraeosaurid sauropod from India, Tharosaurus indicus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (early–middle Bathonian) strata of Jaisalmer Basin, western India. Known from elements of the axial skeleton, the new taxon is phylogenetically among the earlier-diverging dicraeosaurids, and its stratigraphic age makes it the earliest known diplodocoid globally. Palaeobiogeographic considerations of Tharosaurus, seen in conjunction with the other Indian Jurassic sauropods, suggest that the new Indian taxon is a relic of a lineage that originated in India and underwent rapid dispersal across the rest of Pangaea. Here we emphasize the importance of Gondwanan India in tracing the origin and early evolutionary history of neosauropod dinosaurs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:56:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2d5ecc54b16f465fa5499f69d597e526 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T17:56:45Z |
| publishDate | 2023-08-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj.art-2d5ecc54b16f465fa5499f69d597e5262023-11-20T09:09:11ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222023-08-0113111510.1038/s41598-023-39759-2Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiationSunil Bajpai0Debajit Datta1Pragya Pandey2Triparna Ghosh3Krishna Kumar4Debasish Bhattacharya5Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of TechnologyDepartment of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of TechnologyGeological Survey of IndiaDepartment of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of TechnologyGeological Survey of IndiaCentral Head Quarters, Geological Survey of IndiaAbstract The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and Late Jurassic. Here we report the first ever remains of a dicraeosaurid sauropod from India, Tharosaurus indicus gen. et sp. nov., from the Middle Jurassic (early–middle Bathonian) strata of Jaisalmer Basin, western India. Known from elements of the axial skeleton, the new taxon is phylogenetically among the earlier-diverging dicraeosaurids, and its stratigraphic age makes it the earliest known diplodocoid globally. Palaeobiogeographic considerations of Tharosaurus, seen in conjunction with the other Indian Jurassic sauropods, suggest that the new Indian taxon is a relic of a lineage that originated in India and underwent rapid dispersal across the rest of Pangaea. Here we emphasize the importance of Gondwanan India in tracing the origin and early evolutionary history of neosauropod dinosaurs.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2 |
| spellingShingle | Sunil Bajpai Debajit Datta Pragya Pandey Triparna Ghosh Krishna Kumar Debasish Bhattacharya Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation Scientific Reports |
| title | Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation |
| title_full | Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation |
| title_fullStr | Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation |
| title_short | Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation |
| title_sort | fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest india was a major centre for neosauropod radiation |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2 |
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