Brachiosauridae

Not to be confused with Branchiosauridae.
Brachiosaurids
Temporal range: Late Jurassic – Early Cretaceous, 160–100 Ma Possible Bathonian and Campanian record
Mounted Brachiosaurus skeleton cast, Field Museum of Natural History
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Clade: †Macronaria
Clade: †Titanosauriformes
Family: †Brachiosauridae
Riggs, 1904
Genera

The Brachiosauridae ("arm lizards", from Greek brachion (βραχίων) = "arm" and sauros = "lizard") are a family or clade of herbivorous, quadrupedal sauropod dinosaurs.[1] Brachiosaurids had long necks that enabled them to access the leaves of tall trees that other sauropods would have been unable to reach.[2] In addition, they possessed thick spoon-shaped teeth which helped them to consume tough plants more efficiently than other sauropods.[2] They have also been characterized by a few unique traits or synapomorphies; dorsal vertebrae with 'rod-like' transverse processes and an ischium with an abbreviated pubic peduncle.[2]

Brachiosaurus is one of the best-known members of the Brachiosauridae, and was once thought to be the largest land animal to ever live.[1] Brachiosaurids thrived in the regions which are now North and South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia.[3][4] They first appear in the fossil record in the Late Jurassic Period (possibly even earlier in the Middle Jurassic) and disappear in the late Early Cretaceous Period.[5] The broad distribution of Brachiosauridae in both northern and southern continents suggests that the group originated prior to the breakup of Pangaea.[3][4][6] In the Early Cretaceous the distribution of the group is dramatically reduced. It is still unclear whether this reduction is due to local extinctions or to the limited nature of the Early Cretaceous fossil record.[3]

Brachiosauridae has been defined as all titanosauriforms that are more closely related to Brachiosaurus than to Saltasaurus.[3][5] It is one of the three main groups of the clade Titanosauriformes, which also includes the Euhelopodidae and the Titanosauria.[3]

  1. ^ a b Glut, Donald F. (1997). Dinosaurs, the Encyclopedia. Jefferson, NC: McFarland.
  2. ^ a b c D'emic, Michael D. (2012). "The Early Evolution of Titanosauriform Sauropod Dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (3): 624–671. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00853.x. hdl:2027.42/94293.
  3. ^ a b c d e Carballido, José L.; Pol, Diego; Parra Ruge, Mary L.; Padilla Bernal, Santiago; Páramo-Fonseca, María E.; Etayo-Serna, Fernando (2015). "A new Early Cretaceous brachiosaurid (Dinosauria, Neosauropoda) from northwestern Gondwana (Villa de Leiva, Colombia)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 35 (5): e980505. Bibcode:2015JVPal..35E0505C. doi:10.1080/02724634.2015.980505. S2CID 129498917.
  4. ^ a b Rauhut, OWM (2006). "A Brachiosaurid Sauropod from the Late Jurassic Cañadón Calcáreo Formation of Chubut, Argentina" (PDF). Fossil Record. 9 (2): 226–237. doi:10.1002/mmng.200600010.
  5. ^ a b D'Emic, Michael (2012). "The Beginning of the Sauropod Dinosaur Hiatus in North America: Insights from the Lower Cretaceous Cloverly Formation of Wyoming". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 32 (4): 883–902. doi:10.1080/02724634.2012.671204. S2CID 128486488.
  6. ^ Lim, JD (2001). "The First Discovery of a Brachiosaurid from the Asian Continent" (PDF). Naturwissenschaften. 88 (2): 82–4. Bibcode:2001NW.....88...82L. doi:10.1007/s001140000201. PMID 11320893. S2CID 39381123.