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RE: Pleurocoelus vs. Astrodon
Sorry to resurrect an old pile of bones (no Halloween pun intended), but
I've been trying to straighten out the whole _Pluerocoelus_/_Astrodon_ mess,
for the sake of my sanity, if for nothing else. Anyway, I've come up with
some questions that research through my meager resources can't answer:
--Are there more teeth referred to _A.johnstoni_, other than the holotype
(YPM 798)?
--Are there any teeth referred to _P.nanus_ (as implied by Hatcher, 1903)?
And if so, how do they differ from _A.johnstoni_?
--Is there material other than the tibia for _P. altus_ (I've heard either a
distal fibula or isolated verts, but never both together)?
--Is the Arundel Fm. Aptian (sensu Lipka, 1998) or Hauterivian-Barremian
(sensu Ostrom, 1970) in age?
And now for the Texas "Pleurocoelus" material:
--What formations make up the Comanche series? (According to Weishampel, et
al, 1990, _P._ sp and/or _P.cf.nanus_ material is found in the Bluff Dale
Sandstone, and the Glen Rose and Paluxy Fms.)
--What material, other than Gallup's (1975; mentioned in Glut, 1997)
articulated leg and pes, are referred to _Pleurocoelus_ from Texas?
--How many species (genera?) are represented by the material in the Comanche
series?
And one final note, the "Pleurocoelus" sp. phenomenon does not stop at
Texas. For years "Astrodon"-type teeth have been known from the Cedar
Mountain Fm. of Eastern Utah. Good material is currently being excavated
(well, at least when it isn't snowing, as it is today)from a site near the
College of Eastern Utah in Price from the Ruby Ranch Member of the Cedar
Mountain; several teeth, formerly referred to "Pleuroceolus" sp. have been
recovered, as have tons (literally!) of skeletal elements including an
elongated cervical vertebrae that is very similar to _Sauroposeidon_ of
Oklahoma. Don Burge, director of the CEU museum, presented a talke at SVP
in Mexico City concerning this animal. This is probably not the same animal
as _Cedarosaurus_, it comes from a different member of the formation (Yellow
Cat), but then again, I haven't had the opportunity to compare the two much.
Looks like we have yet another Early Cretaceous
brachiosaurid/titanosauriform from North America to scratch our heads over!
Thanks for your time, any and all answers to any of the above questions
appreciated.
Sincerely,
Bronson J. Barton
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