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New dinosaurs Ahshislepelta, Amtocephale, pterosaur Navajodactylus and more pdfs
From: Ben Creisler
bh480@scn.org
Robert Sullivan has recently posted a host of new papers
in the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
Bulletin. The pdfs can be downloaded for free at:
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/Publications.html
Ojoraptorsaurus has been mentioned on the DML before.
Here some additional new taxa and paper with abstracts.
M. Burns and R. M. Sullivan (2011).
A new ankylosaurid from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland
Formation, San Juan Basin, with comments on the diversity
of ankylosaurids in New Mexico.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53: 169-178.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/162.Burns_and_Su
llivan__Ahshislepelta__COLOR.pdf
A new, small ankylosaurid, Ahshislepelta minor, from the
upper Campanian Kirtland Formation (Hunter Wash Member),
San Juan Basin, New Mexico, consists of shoulder girdle
and forelimb elements, vertebral fragments, and numerous
osteoderms. Ahshislepelta minor differs from other
ankylosaurids on the basis of a prominent dorsolateral
overhang of the acromion and its osteoderm texture. It
ranks as one of the most complete ankylosaur specimens
known from New Mexico and adds to our understanding of
ankylosaurid paleobiogeography,stratigraphy, and taxonomy.
---
M. Watabe, K. Tsogtbaatar and R. M. Sullivan (2011).
A new pachycephalosaurid from the Baynshire Formation
(Cenomanina-Late Santonian), Gobi Desert, Mongolia.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53:489-497.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/174.Watabe_et_al
__Mongolian_pachy_.pdf
A nearly complete pachycephalosaurid frontoparietal dome,
from the Baynshire Formation at Amtgai,southern Gobi
Desert, Mongolia, is identified as a new taxon.
Amtocephale gobiensis n. gen., n. sp. differs from all
other pachycephalosaurids in a combination of features
that include: deep supratemporal fossae; broad
(craniocaudally) prefrontal sutural surfaces with the
nasal; prefrontal and anterior supraorbital sutural
surfaces lying in a single plane; short parietal
(parietal length to the frontoparietal length is 2.44);
the medial posterior extension the parietal sharply
downturned and wide relative to the maximum width of the
frontoparietal; and lacking supratemporal fenestrae.
Amtocephale gobiensis may be the oldest known
pachycephalosaurid as it comes from rocks that are no
younger than late Santonian. While it may be the oldest
known pachycephalosaurid, phylogenetic analysis
Amtocephale gobiensis suggests relationship to the more
derived pachycephalosaurids
--
----
R. M. Sullivan and D. Fowler (2011)
Navajodactylus boerei, n. gen., n. sp., (Pterosauria, ?
Azhdarchidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland
Formation (upper Campanian) of New Mexico.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
Bulletin 53:393-404.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/167.Sullivan_and
_Fowler__Navajodactylus__COLOR.pdf
Navajodactylus boerei gen. et sp. nov. is a new ?
azhdarchid pterosaur from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland
Formation (Hunter Wash Member), San Juan Basin, New
Mexico. The holotype consists of the proximal portion of
a right 1st wing phalanx with a fused extensor tendon
process. Comparison to other named and unnamed pterosaurs
indicates that the morphology of the extensor tendon
process can be used to differentiate pterosaur taxa.
Navajodactylus boerei is characterized by having a well-
developed extensor tendon process that covers 75%
of the proximal articulation surface of the 1st wing
phalanx, with a pronounced dorsal boss on the superior
margin of the dorsal cotyle, and it has a shallow, open
extensor tendon process saddle. The arc of metacarpal IV
is large and occupies more than 50% of the proximal area
of the dorsal cotyle on the extensor tendon process.
Navajodactylus boerei is a component of the Hunter Wash
local fauna (Kirtlandian land-vertebrate age [LVA]),
which is approximately 75 Ma (late Campanian). This age
date is based on the stratigraphic position of the type
locality which lies below ash 2, dated at 74.44 Ma, and
above ash DEP, dated at 75.56 Ma. Navajodactylus boerei
is also identified among the pterosaur material recovered
from the the Dinosaur Park Formation, Dinosaur Provincial
Park, Alberta, Canada. This material is late Judithian
LVA and is dated approximately 76-75.3 Ma, an age
slightly older than the age of the holotype.
----
already mentioned on DML
R. M. Sullivan, S. E. Jasinski, M. P. A. Van Tomme
(2011).
A new caenagnathid Ojoraptorsaurus boerei n. gen., n. sp.
(Dinosauria: Oviraptorsauria), from the Upper Cretaceous
Ojo Alamo Formation (Naashoibito Member), San Juan Basin,
New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and
Science Bulletin 53:418-428.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/169._Sullivan_et
_al._Ojoraptorsaurus__COLOR.pdf
A nearly complete pair of pubes is identified as a new
caenagnathid oviraptorosaur, Ojoraptorsaurus boerei, n.
gen., n. sp., based on having a ?spoon-shaped? depression
on the anterior dorsal surface of the pubic boot, an
elongated anterior process of the pubic boot, a recessed
enclosed pubic fossa, the distal end of the pubic shaft
convex anteriorly, and a sub-trapezoidal pubic peduncle
articulation surface. Ojoraptorsaurus boerei is most
similar to ROM 43250 (previously assigned to
Chirostenotes pergracilis Gilmore) from the Horseshoe
Canyon Formation (upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian) of
Alberta, Canada, but differs from it in having a pubic
fossa that is lower on the shaft, a trapezoidal-shaped
articulation surface of the pubes, a shorter shaft length
and in being more robust. ROM 43250 is placed in a new
genus and species, Epichirostenotes curriei, that is much
younger than
Chirostenotes pergracilis (sensu stricto), which may
include the holotype of Macrophalangia canadensis (CMN
8538) and a referred specimen TMP 79.20.1, all of which
are from the Dinosaur Park Formation and predate E.
curriei by nearly 3 million years. The holotype specimen
of Epichirostenotes curriei (ROM 43250) differs
morphologically from Chirostenotes pergracilis (sensu
stricto), based on TMP 79.20.1, in features of the
ischium.
We note minor differences in the morphology of the left
manus of the holotype of Chirostenotes pergracilis (CMN
2367) compared to TMP 79.20.1, suggesting that these two
may not be conspecific. Ojoraptorsaurus boerei is from
the Naashoibito Member of the Ojo Alamo Formation, San
Juan Basin, New Mexico, and is part of the Alamo Wash
local fauna. This fauna is considered to be 69 Ma and
thus is early Maastrichtian in age. Ojoraptorsaurus
boerei represents the southern-most occurrence of a
caenagnathid in North America. It is the first and only
known caenagnathid from New Mexico and from the lower
Maastrichtian of North America
========
Other papers:
M. Burns and R. M. Sullivan (2011)
The tail club of Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis
(Dinosauria: Ankylosauridae), with a review of
ankylosaurid tail club morphology and homology.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53: 179-186.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/163._Burns_and_S
ullivan__tail_club__COLOR.pdf
Three new tail club specimens are referred to the Upper
Cretaceous ankylosaurid Nodocephalosaurus kirtlandensis
from the De-na-zin Member of the Kirtland Formation (San
Juan Basin, New Mexico, USA). These incomplete specimens
represent portions of major and minor plates of the tail
club. The plates of Nodocephalosaurus are unique in their
smooth surface texture when compared to the other North
American taxa, Euoplocephalus and Ankylosaurus. However,
they are structurally similar in overall shape to some
specimens that are currently referred to Euoplocephalus.
The histology and surface texture of tail club osteoderms
do not always correlate with those of other postcranial
osteoderms, even within individuals.
----
S. E. Jasinski and R. M. Sullivan (2011)
Re-evaluation of pachycephalosaurids from the Fruitland-
Kirtland transition (Kirtlandian, late Campanian), San
Juan Basin, New Mexico, with a description of a new
species of Stegoceras and a reassessment of Texascephale
langstoni.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53:202-215.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/164.Jasinski_and
_Sullivan__Stegoceras__COLOR.pdf
Two partial pachycephalosaurid skulls, from the upper
Fruitland and lower Kirtland formations(Upper
Cretaceous), are recognized as belonging to a new species
of Stegoceras Lambe, S. novomexicanum, n. sp. Stegoceras
novomexicanum differs from the only other recognized
species of Stegoceras (sensu Sullivan, 2003) in
possessing: a reduced and sub-rectangular posteromedial
extension of the parietal; parallel squamosal sutural
surface contacts of the posteromedial extension of the
parietal; enlarged and medially positioned supratemporal
fenestrae; and a small (adult) size. Fusion of the
frontal and parietal in one specimen, coupled with a
smooth dorsal surface of the frontoparietal dome, is
consistent with an adult ontogenetic stage. Gross
histology reveals four histomorphs, the fourth (outer-
most layer) indicates arrested growth, further attesting
to its mature state. Stegoceras novomexicanum is known
from, and restricted to, the upper Fruitland Formation
(Fossil Forest Member) and lower Kirtland Formation
(Hunter Wash Member); the collective vertebrates from
these contiguous strata make up the Hunter Wash local
fauna. Contrary to previous reports, the Prenocephale (=
Sphaerotholus)-like pachycephalosaurids are not known
from the early Kirtlandian, but are restricted to the
Willow Wash local fauna of the upper Kirtland Formation
(De-na-zin Member). Stegoceras novomexicanum is
temporally younger (Kirtlandian) than the well-known S.
validum from the Judithian of Alberta, Canada.
A reassessment of the newly named taxon Texacephale
langstoni demonstrates that it is not based on diagnostic
material and, therefore, is a nomen dubium.
----
S. E. Jasinski, R. M. Sullivan and S. G. Lucas (2011)
Taxonomic composition of the Alamo Wash local fauna from
the Upper Cretaceous Ojo Alamo Formation (Naashoibito
Member) San Juan Basin, New Mexico.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53:216-271.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/165._Jasinski_et
_al__Naashoibito__COLOR.pdf
The vertebrate fauna from the Upper Cretaceous
Naashoibito Member of the Ojo Alamo Formation
(Sandstone), also known as the Alamo Wash local fauna
(AWlf), has been the focus of intense collecting for over
20 years in order to clarify the biostratigraphic
occurrences of taxa within this unit. Previously, some
vertebrate taxa from the underlying De-na-zin Member of
the Kirtland Formation, which lies unconformably below
the Naashoibito Member, were mistakenly included in the
original definition of the fauna. Therefore, the
taxonomic composition of the Alamo Wash local fauna has
not been properly assessed until now. The Alamo Wash
local fauna consists of a variety of vertebrate taxa,
including fish, a salamander, turtles, crocodylians,
dinosaurs, and mammals. The fossil vertebrates from the
AWFL include a few fishes: Myledaphus sp., ?Squatirhina
sp., Lepisosteidae indet. and an indeterminate
osteichthyan. There is an indeterminate ?
Batrachosauroididae and a few turtles, including the
pleurosternid Compsemys sp., an indeterminate baenid, the
questionable kinosternoid Hoplochelys sp., an
indeterminate adocid, the nanhsiungchelyid ?Basilemys
sp., the trionychid Plastomenus sp. as well as an
indeterminate trionychid. The teiid lizards ?Chamops sp.
and Peneteius sp. have been documented by others, but not
verified by us, so we tentatively accept their presence.
Crocodylians include cf. Brachychampsa sp. and
indeterminate crocodylian material. Dinosaurs are
represented by numerous theropods, including the
problematic coelurosaurian Ricardoestesia sp., the
tyrannosaurid cf. Tyrannosaurus sp., indeterminate
ornithomimids, the caenagnathid Ojoraptorsaurus boerei,
an indeterminate troodontid, and a new unnamed
dromaeosaurid. Sauropods are represented by the
titanosaur Alamosaurus sanjuanensis. Ankylosaurs include
the nodosaurid Glyptodontopelta mimus and an
indeterminate ankylosaurid that is close to
Euoplocephalus. Hadrosaurs include an indeterminate
lambeosaurin that is close to Corythosaurus and
Hypacrosaurus as well as indeterminate hadrosaurines. The
chasmosaurine Ojoceratops fowleri is the only diagnostic
ceratopsian known, but other ceratopsid material suggests
other ceratopsid taxa are present. Mammals include the
neoplagiaulacid Mesodma formosa, the eucosmodontid cf.
Essonodon sp., the taeniolabidid cf. Meniscoessus sp., an
indeterminate pediomyid, the alphadontin Alphadon marshi,
and the glasbiid aff. Glasbius sp. Taxa that have been
removed, and are no longer considered part of the AWlf,
include the iconic lambeosaurine Parasaurolophus tubicen
and the chasmosaurine Pentaceratops, together with
numerous other dinosaurs and non-mammalian vertebrates.
The Alamo Wash local fauna is dated to approximately 69
Ma based on correlation of Alamosaurus sanjuanensis to
its occurrence in the Big Bend region of Texas, where it
has been dated radioisotopically. This places the AWlf
temporally before the Lancian LVA in the late-early
Maastrichtian to earliest late Maastrichtian
(late ?Edmontonian?).
There is no definitive evidence to support a Lancian or a
Paleocene age for this vertebrate fauna.
----
R. M. Sullivan, S. E. Jasinski, M. Guenther and S. G.
Lucas (2011)
The first lambeosaurin (Dinosauria, Hadrosauridae,
Lambeosaurinae) from the Upper Cretaceous Ojo Alamo
Formation (Naashoibito Member), San Juan Basin, New
Mexico.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53:405-417.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/168._Sullivan_et
_al__lambeosaurin_.pdf
A nearly complete robust left humerus (SMP VP-2263) and
right jugal (SMP VP-1534) belonging to a lambeosaurin
lambeosaurine (= Lambeosaurus + (Corythosaurus +
Hypacrosaurus)) dinosaur have been recovered from two
separate localities in the Naashoibito Member (Ojo Alamo
Formation), San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Measurements of
the humerus are: length = 550 mm; deltopectoral crest
length = 260 mm; deltopectoral width = 135 mm. The robust
morphology and measurements of the humerus confirm it
pertains to a member of the lambeosaurin clade, which we
formally establish. The jugal has a maximum rostrocaudal
length of 255 mm and a shape that is inconsistent with
the jugals of all species of Parasaurolophus. These
specimens, which are very similar to the humerus and
jugal of Corythosaurus and Hypacrosaurus, constitute
definite records of lambeosaurines from the Naashoibito
Member, despite previous erroneous reports of the
occurrence of Parasaurolophus tubicen from this horizon.
The putative hadrosaurine, NMMNH P-19147, is re-
interpreted as a lambeosaurin lambeosaurine, based
primarily on the morphology of the pubis. Recovery of
additional lambeosaurine material in the Naashoibito
Member lends further support to a pre-Lancian age for
this interval and for the Alamo Wash local fauna.
----
S. G. Lucas, R. M. Sullivan, S. E. Jasinski and T. L.
Ford (2011)
Hadrosaur footprints from the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland
Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico, and the
ichnotaxonomy of large ornithopod footprints.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53:357-362.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/166._Lucas_et_al
__Hadro_tracks_.pdf
Several sandstone casts of dinosaur footprints,
identified as the ichnogenus Caririchnium, have been
recovered from the lower part of the Fossil Forest
Member, Fruitland Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico.
The footprints, which were made by a large hadrosaur, are
tridactyl, have broad, rounded heel imprints, and thick
toes that terminate in short, narrow claw tips with the
largest specimens as much as 940 mm long. Skeletal
remains of large hadrosaurs are also known from the
Fruitland Formation, so these dinosaurs are now known by
both bones and footprints. A reconsideration of the
ichnotaxonomy of large ornithopod footprints suggests
that only two ichnogenera may be valid: Caririchnium (=
Hadrosauropodus) and Amblydactylus (= Iguanodontipus).
----
R. M. Sullivan, S. G. Lucas (2011).
Charles Hazelius Sternberg and his San Juan Basin
Cretaceous dinosaur collections: Correspondence and
photographs (1920-1925).
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53:429-471.
[NOTE: Because of the large size of this file the PDF in
two parts (pt. 1) and (pt. 2)]
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/170a._Sullivan_a
nd_Lucas__2011__Charles_Hazelius_Sternberg_and_his_San_Jua
n_Basin_Cretaceous_dinosaur_collection.pdf
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/170b._Sullivan_a
nd_Lucas__2011__Charles_Hazelius_Sternberg_and_his_San_Jua
n_Basin_Cretaceous_dinosaur_collection.pdf
-----
R. M. Sullivan, S. G. Lucas and S. E. Jasinsk i(2011).
The humerus of a hatchling lambeosaurine (Dinosauria:
Hadrosauridae) referable to cf. Parasaurolophus tubicen
from the Upper Cretaceous Kirtland Formation (De-na-zin
Member), San Juan Basin, New Mexico.
New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin
53:472-474.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/171.Sullivan_et_
al__hatchling_humerus__COLOR.pdf
A small left humerus of a lambeosaurine (Hadrosauridae),
measuring 41 mm in length, is identified as a hatchling
individual that probably belongs to the taxon
Parasaurolophus tubicen. The specimen was discovered in
the Kirtland Formation (De-na-zin Member), in the same
stratigraphic horizon, and close to the locality, where
the skull of Parasaurolophus tubicen (NMMNH P-25100) was
found. This is the first recognized hatchling dinosaur
from the Upper Cretaceous of New Mexico and it is the
first known to be referable to P. tubicen. The presence of
this hatchling suggests that the nearby area probably was
a breeding ground for these lambeosaurine dinosaurs.
----
R. M. Sullivan, S. G. Lucas, S. E. Jasinski and D. H.
Tanke (2011).
An unusual neural spine osteopathy of a chasmosaurine
(Dinosauria: Ceratopsidae) from the Upper Cretaceous
Kirtland Formation (Hunter Wash Member), San Juan Basin,
New Mexico. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and
Science Bulletin 53:484-488.
http://www.robertmsullivanphd.com/uploads/173.Sullivan_et_
al__Chasmosaurine_osteo__COLOR.pdf
An unusual paleopathology, in the form of an irregular-
shaped bony plate that is fused to, and is part of, the
fused neural spine complex, is the first of its kind to
be described for a ceratopsid dinosaur. This pathology is
a bony mass composed of a network of fused ossified
tendons and secondary bone deposited in a rather thin
plate that extends out from the neural spine centered
over the 5th and 6th sacral vertebrae. The etiology of
this unusual pathology is unknown. We interpret this
paleopathology as the possible result of a bite, or bites,
to the back of the chasmosaurine, although there is no
direct evidence of this. The plate is inferred to have
been within the compact dermal layer of the
chasmosaurine?s sacrum.