Titanosaurs, a type of sauropod, ranged in size from the weight of a cow to that of the largest sperm whale. These plant-eaters have long necks and tails and may have been the most common large herbivores in the Southern Hemisphere landmasses during the Cretaceous. Despite their abundance, the skulls of these animals, critical to deciphering certain aspects of their biology, are exceedingly rare. Of the 60-plus named titanosaurs, only four are represented by nearly complete or semi-complete skulls. Using computerized tomography (CT) imaging, the authors of this study closely examined well-preserved, anatomically 'primitive' skull and neck fossils from Sarmientosaurus.
The researchers found that the Sarmientosaurus brain was small relative to its enormous body, typical of sauropods. However, they also found evidence of greater sensory capabilities than most other sauropods. They suggest that Sarmientosaurus had large eyeballs and good vision, and that the inner ear may have been better tuned for hearing low-frequency airborne sounds compared to other titanosaurs. Moreover, the balance organ of the inner ear indicates that this dinosaur may have habitually held its head with the snout facing downward, possibly to feed primarily on low-growing plants. "Discoveries like Sarmientosaurus happen once in a lifetime," says study leader Rubén Martínez. "That's why we studied the fossils so thoroughly, to learn as much about this amazing animal as we could."
Sarmientosaurus musacchioi is named for the town of Sarmiento in Chubut Province, which is close to the discovery site. The species name also honors the late Dr. Eduardo Musacchio, a paleontologist and professor at the UNPSJB and friend to Dr. Martínez and other team members.
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In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151661
Citation: Martínez RDF, Lamanna MC, Novas FE, Ridgely RC, Casal GA, Martínez JE, et al. (2016) A Basal Lithostrotian Titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) with a Complete Skull: Implications for the Evolution and Paleobiology of Titanosauria. PLoS ONE 11(4): e0151661. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0151661
Additional multimedia available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zb8e5ffEC74 https://skfb.ly/MKOP https://skfb.ly/MKLO https://skfb.ly/MKKH
Funding: R.D.F.M. and G.A.C. were supported by the Facultad de Ciencias Naturales of the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco. M.C.L.'s participation in the research was supported by Carnegie Museum of Natural History, the University of Pennsylvania, the National Geographic Society (Grant 6646-99), the Jurassic Foundation, the Evolving Earth Foundation, the Delaware Valley Paleontological Society, and the Paleontological Society. L.M.W. and R.C.R. acknowledge funding support from the Ohio University Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine and the National Science Foundation (IBN-0343744, IOB-0517257, IOS-1050154). The Ohio Supercomputing Center provided additional support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
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