Wamweracaudia and additional Tendaguru sauropod revisions

[Logo7]

A new species of mamenchisaurid has been described from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania, Wamweracaudia keranjei ("Keranje's Wamwera tail"). This discovery represents the first mamenchisaurid known outside of Asia. The name originates from the Wamwera tribe inhabiting the region where it was discovered and the fact that its remains consist of a tail that was formerly assigned to Janenschia before being found as separate from said genus in 2000, with it only now being described. The species name originates from Mohammadi Keranje, the foreman leading the team that excavated the tail during the 1909 to 1912 German expeditions.

In addition, the paper classifies Janenschia as a eusauropod that is a close relative of Haestasaurus and Bellusaurus, rejecting its earlier classification as a titanosaur, classifies Austalodocus as a somphospondylan, making it the first of its kind known from before the Cretaceous, and classifies Tendaguria as a turiasaur that is a close relative of Moabosaurus, making it the first of its kind known from Gondwana. This paper examines the diversity of sauropod groups in the Tendaguru Formation in an attempt to explain why it was so diverse in comparison to other formations of a similar age. It also helps to shed light on the evolutionary history of eusauropods, including suggesting a basal diplodocid placement for Haplocanthosaurus and shedding light on the interrelationships of rebbachisaurids.

Here is a reconstruction of the new species by DeviantArt user cisiopurple as well as a link to the paper describing it.



Paper (abstract only): https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/zoolinnean/zly068/5300162?redirectedFrom=fulltext

[Gothmog the Baryonyx]

As I said in your other thread, cisiopurple is going though all the non-avian dinosaurs, so here is his rendition of Wamweracauda:

[Vidusaurus]

I can't help but wonder whether the new genus is actually a mamenchisaurid, given that (to the best of my knowledge) the clade is known exclusively from mid-late Jurassic China

[Logo7]

The importance of this find is that it is the first mamenchisaurid known outside of Asia. Although it's still not 100% confirmed yet, the shape of the tail vertebrae definitely support the hypothesis that it is a mamenchisaurid.

[ITdactyl]

L @Logo7 , were you able to access the paper (beyond the abstract)?  I'm curious to know what aspect of the caudal series is considered diagnostic for mamenchisaurids.

[Logo7]

Unfortunately, I don't but I do know that the distinct features of mamenchisaurids present in the new specimen are that the transverse processes or caudal ribs of the front tail vertebrae strongly curve sideways and to the front and on the front tail vertebrae, just in between the outer side of the prezygapophysis and the tip of the upper side of the diapophysis, the top rib facet, a pair of small extensions, or tubercula, is present. These features are diagnostic to mamenchisaurids.