Sauropod large body size with modified laminar bone

[Ben Creisler]

Ben Creisler

bcre...@gmail.com

A new paper:

====

Marceli Witasik, Justyna Słowiak & Tomasz Szczygielski (2024)
Modified laminar bone did not stop sauropods from achieving large body sizes
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e2396816
doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2024.2396816
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2024.2396816


An almost complete dinosaur femur found in the Baynshire Formation (late Cenomanian to Santonian; Mongolia) in 1963 during the Polish–Mongolian Paleontological Expeditions is described here for the first time. The morphology of the femur and bone histology suggest that the specimen was a representative of the Titanosauriformes, the predominant sauropod clade during the Cretaceous. Bone tissue exclusive to this clade, modified laminar bone that indicates a reduced growth rate, is identified in the thin sections taken from the femur. Based on its bone histology, the already ca. 20-meter-long specimen appears to be a subadult. This specimen achieved a significantly larger size compared with other Titanosauriformes with modified lamellar bone at a similar growth stage.