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oai:figshare.com:article/34055985 2026-10-02T09:11:19Z category_14 category_24 category_272 category_39 category_734 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_10_2026

Sauropod resilience in the southeastern Neuquén Basin at the end-Cretaceous: new titanosaurian evidence from the Allen Formation (late Maastrichtian) of Patagonia, Argentina Flavio Bellardini (17280461) Guillermo J. Windholz (25301625) Diego A. Pino (25301628) Alberto C. Garrido (9513971) Rodolfo García (25301631) Diego Pol (128988) Molecular Biology Evolutionary Biology Environmental Sciences not elsewhere classified Ecology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified strongly procoelic articulation still poorly represented southeastern neuquén basin several titanosaurian taxa several dorsal ribs prominent lateral trochanter high taxonomic diversity additional isolated tooth four titanosaurian species dorsoventrally low ischium fifth sauropod taxon diagnostic elements prevents semilunar sternal plates aeolosaurus rionegrinus </ two sternal plates new titanosaurian evidence two fibulae ). one caudal vertebra time .</ p argentina ), including sternal plates one ischium new species caudal vertebra sauropod evidence two metacarpals sauropod resilience overlapping elements appendicular elements rocasaurus </ menucocelsior </ bonatitan </ widespread distribution straight fibulae single individual sauropods throughout ocean transgression morphological conditions middle member environmental changes associated cranial also found <p>The Late Cretaceous sauropod fauna of Patagonia shows a high taxonomic diversity and a widespread distribution, including over a third of all known Gondwanan sauropod taxa. However, the Maastrichtian record is still poorly represented, particularly when compared to the sauropod evidence from the Cenomanian or Santonian–Campanian time-lapses. Here, we describe new sauropod specimens from the Allen Formation of the Bajo de Santa Rosa (Patagonia, Argentina), including a single individual (MML-Pv-1031) with disarticulated but associated cranial (one tooth), axial (several dorsal ribs, one caudal vertebra and three hemal arches), and appendicular elements (two sternal plates, two metacarpals, one ischium, and two fibulae). An additional isolated tooth (MML-Pv-1032) was also found in the same site. The strongly procoelic articulation of the caudal vertebra, the dorsoventrally low ischium, the semilunar sternal plates, and the slender, straight fibulae with a prominent lateral trochanter of MML-Pv-1031 resemble the morphological conditions of several titanosaurian taxa. Furthermore, some features of the sternal plates and fibulae of MML-Pv-1031 differ from the four titanosaurian species with overlapping elements from the Allen Formation, <i>Aeolosaurus rionegrinus</i>, <i>Bonatitan</i>, <i>Menucocelsior</i>, and <i>Rocasaurus</i>. This suggests the presence of a fifth sauropod taxon in this formation, although the absence of diagnostic elements prevents the naming of a new species. These new titanosaurian findings provide evidence for the presence of sauropods throughout the middle member of the Allen Formation, which is coeval with climatic and environmental changes over time in northern Patagonia during the Maastrichtian, linked with the ocean transgression at that time.</p> 2026-10-02T09:11:19Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34055985.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Sauropod_resilience_in_the_southeastern_Neuqu_n_Basin_at_the_end-Cretaceous_new_titanosaurian_evidence_from_the_Allen_Formation_late_Maastrichtian_of_Patagonia_Argentina/34055985 CC BY 4.0