[N] 2005 The first articulated titanosaurid skeleton in Europe
Le Loeuff , J. (2005) The first articulated titanosaurid skeleton in Europe 1st Meeting of the EAVP Natural History Museum Basel
Late Cretaceous titanosaurids were first reported in Europe by Matheron in 1869, when he described Hypselosaurus priscus on the basis of fragmentary bones collected from the continental red beds of Provence. Matheron thought that H. priscus was a gigantic crocodilian (he still mentioned it as a crocodilian in 1891) and it was not before 1900 that Depéret suggested that it was a sauropod. Depéret claimed that a second sauropod, Titanosaurus , was present in southern France ; T. indicus is a poorly known Indian form described by Lydekker in 1877 on the basis of two caudal vertebrae. In 1947, Lapparent followed Depéret\\\\\\\'s systematics, referring the titanosaurid bones from Provence to H. priscus and T. indicus , here considered as nomina dubia (cf. Le Loeuff, 1993).
Since the late 1980s excavations in the Upper Aude Valley have yielded new correctly preserved titanosaurid material described by the author as Ampelosaurus atacis in 1995. This preliminary paper was illustrated with a few bones only (i.e. one tooth and dorsal vertebrae). Another paper was devoted to a description of the osteoderms referred to A. atacis (Le Loeuff et al , 1994). Since these years, an abundant new material has been unearthed at Bellevue (more than 500 bones), allowing the preparation of a more complete osteological description of Ampelosaurus (Le Loeuff, in press). It seems that a single titanosaurid species is represented in this locality and all the titanosaur bones from Bellevue are referred to A. atacis . Outside France , excavations in the Trevino area ( Burgos province, northwestern Spain ) yielded titanosaurid remains described by Sanz et al . as Lirainosaurus astibiai in 1999.
In 2001, we discovered the first articulated skeleton of A. atacis at Bellevue ; the excavation work, in the hard sandstones of Bellevue , should be completed in 2003. We have already extracted the thoracic cage, with associated pelvic and shoulder girdles. A well preserved disarticulated skull has also been discovered. Preliminary analysis of the prepared material gives interesting informations on several points of the still poorly known titanosaurid anatomy.
Late Cretaceous titanosaurids were first reported in Europe by Matheron in 1869, when he described Hypselosaurus priscus on the basis of fragmentary bones collected from the continental red beds of Provence. Matheron thought that H. priscus was a gigantic crocodilian (he still mentioned it as a crocodilian in 1891) and it was not before 1900 that Depéret suggested that it was a sauropod. Depéret claimed that a second sauropod, Titanosaurus , was present in southern France ; T. indicus is a poorly known Indian form described by Lydekker in 1877 on the basis of two caudal vertebrae. In 1947, Lapparent followed Depéret\\\\\\\'s systematics, referring the titanosaurid bones from Provence to H. priscus and T. indicus , here considered as nomina dubia (cf. Le Loeuff, 1993).
Since the late 1980s excavations in the Upper Aude Valley have yielded new correctly preserved titanosaurid material described by the author as Ampelosaurus atacis in 1995. This preliminary paper was illustrated with a few bones only (i.e. one tooth and dorsal vertebrae). Another paper was devoted to a description of the osteoderms referred to A. atacis (Le Loeuff et al , 1994). Since these years, an abundant new material has been unearthed at Bellevue (more than 500 bones), allowing the preparation of a more complete osteological description of Ampelosaurus (Le Loeuff, in press). It seems that a single titanosaurid species is represented in this locality and all the titanosaur bones from Bellevue are referred to A. atacis . Outside France , excavations in the Trevino area ( Burgos province, northwestern Spain ) yielded titanosaurid remains described by Sanz et al . as Lirainosaurus astibiai in 1999.
In 2001, we discovered the first articulated skeleton of A. atacis at Bellevue ; the excavation work, in the hard sandstones of Bellevue , should be completed in 2003. We have already extracted the thoracic cage, with associated pelvic and shoulder girdles. A well preserved disarticulated skull has also been discovered. Preliminary analysis of the prepared material gives interesting informations on several points of the still poorly known titanosaurid anatomy.