Titanosaur astragalus from Late Cretaceous of India (free pdf)
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Ben Creisler
Nov 13, 2025, 6:47:26 PMNov 13
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Ben Creisler
A new paper:
Free pdf:
Effrey A. Wilson Mantilla, Paulo Martins, Bandana Samant, and Dhananjay M. Mohabey (2025)
First astragalus of a titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of India and the evolution of the sauropod tarsus
Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 38(1): 1–15
doi: https://doi.org/10.7302/27551
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/items/78a34645-e5d4-4056-adc2-6240845facc3
A sauropod astragalus recovered from latest Cretaceous-aged Lameta Formation (=“infratrappean”) horizons exposed near the village of Pisdura, central India, represents the first sauropod tarsal element reported from either Indo-Pakistan or Madagascar during that interval. The astragalus is nearly complete and well preserved, lacking only a portion of its proximal articular surface for the tibia. Somewhat surprisingly, the Pisdura astragalus most closely resembles that of Early Cretaceous and early Late Cretaceous-aged titanosaur sauropods from Australia (e.g., Diamantinasaurus), South America (e.g., Ligabuesaurus), and Asia (e.g., Erketu), rather than those of contemporaneous titanosaurs (e.g., Opisthocoelicaudia, Neuquensaurus). The astragali of these latter latest Cretaceous titanosaurs are distinguished by their highly abbreviated, ‘pyramidal’ shape, which underlies only the lateral half of the distal tibia and contacts only the middle portion of the pes (metatarsals 2–3). The reduction of the astragalus in titanosaurs is part of a general tendency in sauropods towards reduction of carpal and tarsal elements, associated with the acquisition of the “wide-gauge” limb posture.
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Effrey A. Wilson Mantilla, Paulo Martins, Bandana Samant, and Dhananjay M. Mohabey (2025)
First astragalus of a titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of India and the evolution of the sauropod tarsus
Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 38(1): 1–15
doi: https://doi.org/10.7302/27551
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/items/78a34645-e5d4-4056-adc2-6240845facc3
A sauropod astragalus recovered from latest Cretaceous-aged Lameta Formation (=“infratrappean”) horizons exposed near the village of Pisdura, central India, represents the first sauropod tarsal element reported from either Indo-Pakistan or Madagascar during that interval. The astragalus is nearly complete and well preserved, lacking only a portion of its proximal articular surface for the tibia. Somewhat surprisingly, the Pisdura astragalus most closely resembles that of Early Cretaceous and early Late Cretaceous-aged titanosaur sauropods from Australia (e.g., Diamantinasaurus), South America (e.g., Ligabuesaurus), and Asia (e.g., Erketu), rather than those of contemporaneous titanosaurs (e.g., Opisthocoelicaudia, Neuquensaurus). The astragali of these latter latest Cretaceous titanosaurs are distinguished by their highly abbreviated, ‘pyramidal’ shape, which underlies only the lateral half of the distal tibia and contacts only the middle portion of the pes (metatarsals 2–3). The reduction of the astragalus in titanosaurs is part of a general tendency in sauropods towards reduction of carpal and tarsal elements, associated with the acquisition of the “wide-gauge” limb posture.
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Ben Creisler
Nov 14, 2025, 1:37:52 AMNov 14
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Ooops.... Highlighting slipped during copy and paste, and autocorrect capitalized the "e"... The J is now restored. Sorry I missed it the first time.
Jeffrey A. Wilson Mantilla, Paulo Martins, Bandana Samant, and Dhananjay M. Mohabey (2025)
First astragalus of a titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the latest Cretaceous of India and the evolution of the sauropod tarsus
Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan 38(1): 1–15
doi: https://doi.org/10.7302/27551
https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/items/78a34645-e5d4-4056-adc2-6240845facc3
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