Drusilasaura deseadensis, un nuevo Titanosaurio de Santa Cruz, Argentina

A new titanosaurid from Patagonia, Argentina, is here described, Drusilasaura deseadensis gen. et sp. nov., the materials include four dorsal vertebrae, one sacral vertebra, six caudal vertebrae, left scapula, dorsal rib fragments, two haemapophyses and indeterminate fragments. The material comes from the Upper Member of the Bajo Barreal Formation (Cenomanian-Turonian), exposed in the María Aike Ranch, Santa Cruz Province, Patagonia, Argentina. The taxon shows the following character association: (i) presence in the anterior dorsal vertebrae, of two robust spinodiapophyseal laminae, one anterior and other posterior, which delimit an elongate and deep supradiapophyseal cavity; (ii) presence in the anterior dorsal vertebra of a small circumneural lamina surrounding the neural canal in posterior view; (iii) the last sacral vertebra with postspinal lamina expanded toward the neural spine apex; (iv) prespinal laminae, at least until 5º? caudal vertebra, expanded toward the neural spine apex; (v) existence in the anterior caudal vertebrae of tuberopostzygapophyseal laminae; (vi) presence of ventral foramina, at least until the 4º? caudal vertebrae; and (vii) prezygapophyseal tuberosity jointed the prespinal lamina until the 4º? caudal vertebrae. The presence of a synapomorfic character of the clade Lognkosauria suggests the probable inclusion of the Drusilasaura deseadensis gen. et sp. nov. within the clade, in tandem with Mendozasaurus neguyelap, Futalognkosaurus dukei and probably Puertasaurus reuili.

Navarrete, C., Casal, G. & Martínez, R., 2011. Drusilasaura deseadensis gen. et sp. nov., Un nuevo Titanosaurio (Dinosaurio-Sauropoda), de la Formación Bajo Barreal, Cretácico Superior del Norte de Santa Cruz, Argentina. Revista Brasilera de Paleontología. 14 (1): 1-14.

César Navarrete, Gabriel Casaly Rubén Martínez