Laurasiformes (meaning "Laurasian forms") is an extinct clade of sauropod dinosaurs from the late Early Cretaceous of Europe, North and South America. It was defined in 2009 by the Spanish paleontologist Rafael Royo-Torres[2] as a clade containing sauropods more closely related to Tastavinsaurus than to Saltasaurus. Genera purported to form part of this clade include Aragosaurus, Galvesaurus, Phuwiangosaurus, Venenosaurus, Cedarosaurus, Tehuelchesaurus, Sonorasaurus and Tastavinsaurus.[3]
| Laurasiformes Temporal range: Early Cretaceous,
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| Life restoration of Tastavinsaurus sanzi | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Camarasauromorpha |
| Branch: | †Laurasiformes Royo-Torres, 2009 |
| Subgroups[1] | |
Its exact position and validity is uncertain and varies between authors. A cladistics analysis found a similar grouping outside Titanosauriformes and basal within the Camarasauromorpha,[4] while others have placed them inside Somphospondyli or Brachiosauridae,[1] consequently, it has been suggested that Tehuelchesaurus along with others of the previously mentioned genera, form two different clades outside titanosauriformes (Carbadillo et al., 2011)[5] while a more recent cladistics analysis found no support for the existence of the clade, with a revision of its supporting features finding them problematic due to being poorly defined, not present on most of the "laurasiforms" or being features present in many sauropods of other clades.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b Royo-Torres, Rafael; Alcalá, Luis; Cobos, Alberto (2012). "A new specimen of the Cretaceous sauropod Tastavinsaurus sanzi from El Castellar (Teruel, Spain), and a phylogenetic analysis of the Laurasiformes". Cretaceous Research. 34: 61–83. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2011.10.005.
- ^ Royo-Torres, R. (2009). "Los dinosaurios saurópodos en la Península Ibérica. Actas de las IV Jornadas Internacionales sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y su Entorno". Salas de los Infantes, Burgos: 139–166.
- ^ a b D'Emic, M. D. (2012). "The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (3): 624–671. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00853.x.
- ^ Barco, J. L. (2010). "Implicaciones filogenéticas y paleobiogeográficas del saurópodo Galvesaurus herreroi Barco, Canudo. Cuenca-Bescós y Ruiz-Omeñaca 2005". V Jornadas Internacionales Sobre Paleontología de Dinosaurios y Su Entorno: 3–6.
- ^ José L. Carballido; Oliver W. M. Rauhut; Diego Pol; Leonardo Salgado (2011). "Osteology and phylogenetic relationships of Tehuelchesaurus benitezii (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Jurassic of Patagonia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 163 (2): 605–662. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2011.00723.x. hdl:11336/71888.
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