[D] Quaesitosaurus orientalis [Su] [sG] [T]
Describer
Kurzanov & Bannikov, 1983
Time
Cretaceous Late ?Santonian ?Campanian
Classification
Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Diplodocidae Dicraeosaurinae
Diet
Herbivore
Fossilsite
Barun Goyot Formation, Shar Tsav, south-eastern Gobi, Omnogov, Mongolia
Length
12 meter
Info
Genus - Typespecies - Skull
Represented by a isolated skull (Holotype PIN no. 3906/2) discovered by the Soviet-Mongolian Expedition of 1971. Resembles that of Nemegtosaurus in many respects, however it is less complete than that of the latter. The snout of Quaesitosaurus orientalis seems to be broader than in Nemegtosaurus and the squamosal is shorter and does not contact the quadratojugal. The dorsal processes of the maxillae and premaxillae are missing, as are the jugal, lacrimal, prefrontral, and part of the frontal, so no parts of the rims of either the external nares or antorbital fenestra are preserved, and their shapes remain hypothetical. The mandible is essentially complete.
A character of Quaesitosaurus orientalis is the presence of a canal in the basioccipital and basisphenoid leading from the hypophysis to the region beneath the occipital condyle. Another feature characteristic is the comparatively large concavity on the caudal face of the quadrate. The dental formula is 4:9/13.
Hunt et al., (1994) assigned Nemegtosaurus and Quaesitosaurus to the family [Dicraeosauridae] Dicraeosaurinae.
Kurzanov & Bannikov, 1983
Time
Cretaceous Late ?Santonian ?Campanian
Classification
Saurischia Sauropodomorpha Sauropoda Diplodocidae Dicraeosaurinae
Diet
Herbivore
Fossilsite
Barun Goyot Formation, Shar Tsav, south-eastern Gobi, Omnogov, Mongolia
Length
12 meter
Info
Genus - Typespecies - Skull
Represented by a isolated skull (Holotype PIN no. 3906/2) discovered by the Soviet-Mongolian Expedition of 1971. Resembles that of Nemegtosaurus in many respects, however it is less complete than that of the latter. The snout of Quaesitosaurus orientalis seems to be broader than in Nemegtosaurus and the squamosal is shorter and does not contact the quadratojugal. The dorsal processes of the maxillae and premaxillae are missing, as are the jugal, lacrimal, prefrontral, and part of the frontal, so no parts of the rims of either the external nares or antorbital fenestra are preserved, and their shapes remain hypothetical. The mandible is essentially complete.
A character of Quaesitosaurus orientalis is the presence of a canal in the basioccipital and basisphenoid leading from the hypophysis to the region beneath the occipital condyle. Another feature characteristic is the comparatively large concavity on the caudal face of the quadrate. The dental formula is 4:9/13.
Hunt et al., (1994) assigned Nemegtosaurus and Quaesitosaurus to the family [Dicraeosauridae] Dicraeosaurinae.