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Last Titans: Titanosaurs From the Campanian–Maastrichtian Age

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South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs

Part of the book series: Springer Earth System Sciences ((SPRINGEREARTH))

Abstract

After the extinction of rebbachisaurids during the Cenomanian–Turonian interval, titanosaurs were the only group of sauropods to face the K–Pg event. This same global pattern also holds for the end-Cretaceous (Campanian–Maastrichtian) titanosaur record in South America, where their remains can be found from southern Argentina to Ecuador, with more frequent findings in Argentina and Brazil. In this chapter, we review these fossil findings and the main aspects of the taxonomy, systematics, and paleogeographic implications of this record and briefly discuss the importance of these occurrences for the understanding of titanosaur evolution. The diversity and abundance of end-Cretaceous titanosaur taxa in South America represent about 25% of the known Titanosauria species in the world, which makes them the most common group of large terrestrial herbivores of that time. Cretaceous titanosaurs from South America also vary highly in morphology and size, comprising small to large-sized taxa, for example. Their record mainly consists of appendicular and axial remains, including rare skull material, but also comprises eggs, nests, footprints, and coprolites. In South America, by the end of the Late Cretaceous, titanosaurs were generally represented by more derived titanosaurians that are mainly taxonomically assigned to more derived species within Aeolosaurini and Saltasaurinae.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the editors for inviting us to contribute to this book. We also thank Jose Carballido, Pablo Gallina, and Philip Mannion for their comments that greatly improved an earlier version of this chapter. RMS also thanks to the University of Brasília, Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), and Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES) for supporting part of this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Brasília, Faculdade UnB Planaltina, Brasília, DF, 73300-000, Brazil

    Rodrigo M. Santucci

  2. Museo Municipal Argentino Urquiza, Rincón de los Sauces, Chos Malal 1277, 8319, Neuquén, Argentina

    Leonardo S. Filippi

Authors
  1. Rodrigo M. Santucci
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  2. Leonardo S. Filippi
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Correspondence to Rodrigo M. Santucci .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo, CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, La Plata, Argentina

    Alejandro Otero

  2. Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Trelew, Argentina

    José L. Carballido

  3. Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, CONICET - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Trelew, Argentina

    Diego Pol

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Santucci, R.M., Filippi, L.S. (2022). Last Titans: Titanosaurs From the Campanian–Maastrichtian Age. In: Otero, A., Carballido, J.L., Pol, D. (eds) South American Sauropodomorph Dinosaurs. Springer Earth System Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-95959-3_10

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