The evolution of sauropod dinosaurs

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The evolution of sauropod dinosaurs from 1841 to
2008 -- or -- About seventy key moments in
sauropod history, covered way too fast Michael
P. Taylor University of Portsmouth dino_at_miketaylor
.org.uk
The evolution of sauropod dinosaurs from 1841 to
2008 -- or -- About seventy key moments in
sauropod history, covered way too fast Michael
P. Taylor University of Portsmouth dino_at_miketaylor
.org.uk
2
Where we're headed Chronological
review 1841-1870 Glimpses from
fragments 1871-1893 Near-complete
skeletons 1897-1937 Restoration and
interpretation 1940-1967 The wilderness
years 1968-now The Renaissance Thematic
digressions Pneumaticity Posture Aquatic
or terrestrial?
3
Sauropod diversity goes nuts! (new genera by
year)?
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Sauropod diversity goes nuts! (total genera by
year)?
5
Where we're headed Chronological
review 1841-1870 Glimpses from
fragments 1871-1893 Near-complete
skeletons 1897-1937 Restoration and
interpretation 1940-1967 The wilderness
years 1968-now The Renaissance Thematic
digressions Pneumaticity Posture Aquatic
or terrestrial?
6
Buckland 1824 Megalosaurus, the first dinosaur
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Owen 1841a Cardiodon, the first sauropod (image
from Owen 1875 plate IX)?
Cardiodon referred specimen (Barrett 2006 fig 2)?
m
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Owen 1841b Cetiosaurus, the first half-decent
sauropod
Owen 1841b Cetiosaurus, the first half-decent
sauropod
Thought to be an aquatic crocodilian
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m
Owen 1842 Dinosauria does not include Cetiosaurus
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Mantell 1850 Pelorosaurus The first
sauropod recognised as terrestrial.
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Johnston 1859 Astrodon, the first sauropod from
outside England. (image from Leidy 1865 plate
XIII)?
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Ornithopsis Seeley 1870 first recognition of
pneumaticity
... but he thought it was a gigantic animal of
the Pterodactyle kind
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Janensch (1945) on postcranial skeletal
pneumaticity
A lightening adaptation for terrestriality
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Wedel et al. (2000)'s pneumatic reconstruction
Wedel (2005) air-space proportion (ASP)?
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Where we're headed Chronological
review 1841-1870 Glimpses from
fragments 1871-1893 Near-complete
skeletons 1897-1937 Restoration and
interpretation 1940-1967 The wilderness
years 1968-now The Renaissance Thematic
digressions Pneumaticity Posture Aquatic
or terrestrial?
16
Cetiosaurus oxoniensis Phillips 1871 the first
good sauropod material
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Lydekker 1877 Titanosaurus (RIP), the first
Gondwanan sauropod (image from Wilson and
Upchurch 2003 fig. 4)?
The year that everything changes
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Bone wars! Cope vs. Marsh Atlantosaurus Marsh
1877 (? Apatosaurus)? Apatosaurus Marsh
1877 Amphicoelias Cope 1877 Camarasaurus Cope
1877 Dystrophaeus Cope 1877 (nomen
dubium)? Morosaurus Marsh 1878 (
Camarasaurus)? Diplodocus Marsh 1878 Brontosaurus
Marsh 1879 ( Apatosaurus)?
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Camarasaurus Cope 1877, the first (more or less)
complete sauropod (images from Cope 1878)?
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Apatosaurus Marsh 1879
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Ryder's 1877 reconstruction of Camarasaurus
... as a giant newt
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Marsh 1878 the sauropods are named
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Marsh 1883 reconstruction of Apatosaurus
... and jolly good, too!
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Marsh 1884 the skull of Diplodocus
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Where we're headed Chronological
review 1841-1870 Glimpses from
fragments 1871-1893 Near-complete
skeletons 1897-1937 Restoration and
interpretation 1938-1967 The wilderness
years 1968-now The Renaissance Thematic
digressions Pneumaticity Posture Aquatic
or terrestrial?
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Knight's 1897 Brontosaurus, under Osborn's
direction
Knight's 1897 Brontosaurus, under Osborn's
direction
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Osborn's (1899) vision of athletic
Diplodocus, painted by Knight (1907)?
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Osborn's (1899) vision of athletic
Diplodocus, painted by Knight (1907)?
Lurker
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Riggs (1903) shows that Brontosaurus is
Apatosaurus

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Brachiosaurus Riggs 1903, Brachiosauridae Riggs
1904
First strong argument for terrestriality
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1905 first mounted sauropod skeleton, the AMNH
Brontosaurus
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Gregory (1905) calculates the mass of Brontosaurus
... although Riggs (1903) had synonymised with
Apatosaurus
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Diplodocus carnegii Hatcher 1901
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1905 Diplodocus carnegii casts travel the
world (image from Holland 1905 plate XVII)?
1905 Diplodocus carnegii casts travel the
world (image from Holland 1905 plate XVII)?
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Tornier (1909) proposes sprawling posture for
Diplodocus
Painting by Heinrich Harder
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Hay (1910) also proposes sprawling posture for
Diplodocus
... the dummies
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Hay (1910) also proposes sprawling posture for
Diplodocus
Lazy bones
... the dummies
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Holland's (1910) atomic smackdown
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Martin (1987) on Cetiosaurus neck posture and
flexibility
Computerised by Stevens and Parrish (1999)?
40
Paul (1998)?
Christian and Heinrich (1998)'s
near-vertical Brachiosaurus neck
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1910-1912 Germans in Tendaguru (Quarry S photo
from Maier 2003)?
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1937 Janensch's Brachiosaurus mount completed
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1919-1930 the British in Tendaguru (site map
from Migeod 1931)?
(photo from Maier 2003)?
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Migeod's Tendaguru brachiosaurid in the pipeline!
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Osborn and Mook (1921) raise the bar
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Gilmore's (1925)? complete juvenile Camarasaurus
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Wiman's submarine Helopus.
Wiman's submarine Helopus.
Osborn and Mook's Amphicoelias is at it,
too (Reprinted from 1897)?
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Bird (1939) describes sauropod tracks. (images
from Bird 1939 and Bird 1941)? Bird (1944)
concluded that Apatosaurus walked on land.
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1941 Burian's snorkelling Brachiosaurus
Finally smacked down by Kermack (1951)?
Finally smacked down by Kermack (1951)?
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Where we're headed Chronological
review 1841-1870 Glimpses from
fragments 1871-1893 Near-complete
skeletons 1897-1937 Restoration and
interpretation 1940-1967 The wilderness
years 1968-now The Renaissance Thematic
digressions Pneumaticity Posture Aquatic
or terrestrial?
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1947 Zallinger's YPM mural completed
1947 Zallinger's YPM mural completed
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1940s-1960 the dark ages
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1940s-1960s Invasion of the Miocene Rodent Teeth
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1966 Zallinger's Brachiosaurus (probably
painted some time earlier)?
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1966 Zallinger's Brachiosaurus (probably
painted some time earlier)?
Lurker
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... and the unacceptable face of 1960s
sauropods. (The How And Why Wonder Book Of
Dinosaurs)?
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Where we're headed Chronological
review 1841-1870 Glimpses from
fragments 1871-1893 Near-complete
skeletons 1897-1937 Restoration and
interpretation 1940-1967 The wilderness
years 1968-now The Renaissance Thematic
digressions Pneumaticity Posture Aquatic
or terrestrial?
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Bakker 1968 The Superiority of Dinosaurs
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Bakker 1972 (Fighting Brontosaurus from Bakker
1987)?
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Coombs (1975)? Mechanical argument for
terrestriality Compact feet Pneumaticity Terres
trial sediments
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McIntosh and Berman (1975) put the right head on
Apatosaurus
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McIntosh and Berman (1975) put the right head on
Apatosaurus
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1993 Jurassic Park's athletic Brachiosaurus
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Russell and Zheng (1993) pioneer sauropod
cladistics
Upchurch et al. (2004)?
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Curry (1999) on sauropod bone histology (fine
structure)?
Sander (2000)?
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Now disparity goes nuts! Amargasaurus Salgado
Bonaparte 1991
I can haz spikes?
I can haz spikes?
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Now disparity goes nuts! Nigersaurus Sereno et
al. 1999
(Todd Marshall)?
(Sereno et al. 2007)?
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Now disparity goes nuts! Cute little
Brachytrachelopan Rauhut et al. 2005
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Now disparity goes nuts! Europasaurus Sander et
al. 2006
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These things are BIG
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Tendaguria Bonaparte et al. 1999
Xenoposeidon Taylor and Naish 2007
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The future more great stuff in the pipeline!
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The future more great stuff in the pipeline!
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In conclusion Sauropods rule. Always
have. Always will.
(Painting by Luis Rey)?
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Acknowledgements Matt Wedel provided useful
comments on an early draft. My wife actually
fell asleep as I was dry-running this talk.
(Painting by Luis Rey)?
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Acknowledgements Matt Wedel provided useful
comments on an early draft. My wife actually
fell asleep as I was dry-running this talk. I
mean, actually asleep.
(Painting by Luis Rey)?
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Move along, no more to see here, show's over.
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Owen 1859 first attempt to name the group of
sauropods
... but he thought they were crocodiles, and
included a theropod
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Seeley 1874 second attempt to name the group of
sauropods
... based on a partial stegosaur vertebra
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Marsh 1877 third attempt to name the group of
sauropods
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The pinnacle of evolution Brachiosaurus Riggs
1903
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1985 Jensen (finally) publishes Supersaurus,
Ultrasaurus, Dystylosaurus
(Drawing by Sibbick)?
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Dystylosaurus and Ultrasaurus the
disappointing truth.
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Argyrosaurus Lydekker 1893, the first Argentinian
sauropod
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First reconstruction of Brachiosaurus (Matthew
1915 fig 24)?
Pathetic
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1976 Alexander on dinosaur biomechanics (CoM
diagrams from Alexander 1985)?
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Chiappe et al. (1998)? titanosaur embryos and
mass nest sites
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Helopus Wiman 1929 (now Euhelopus Romer), the
first Chinese sauropod