Astrophocaudia

Astrophocaudia (meaning "non-twisting tail"; alternately "star tail" in reference to Astrodon[1]) is a genus of somphospondylan sauropod known from the late Early Cretaceous (Albian stage) of Texas, United States. Its remains were discovered in the Trinity Group. The type species is Astrophocaudia slaughteri, described in 2012 by Michael D. D’Emic while a doctoral student at the Museum of Paleontology of the University of Michigan, USA. [1]

Astrophocaudia
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous, 112 Ma
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Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Suborder: †Sauropodomorpha
Clade: †Sauropoda
Clade: †Eusauropoda
Clade: †Neosauropoda
Clade: †Macronaria
Clade: †Somphospondyli
Genus: †Astrophocaudia
D’Emic, 2012
Type species
†Astrophocaudia slaughteri
D’Emic, 2012

Discovery and naming

In 1969, Maria A. Marques-Bilelo reported the holotype from the Trinity Group.[2] In 1974, Wann Langston Jr. referred the fossil to Pleurocoelus (now considered a junior synonym of Astrodon) as a Pleurocoelus sp. In 2012, Michael D'Emic renamed Pleurocoelus sp. as Astrophocaudia slaughteri in his redescription of the Trinity Group sauropods.[1]

The holotype is a partial skeleton including a tooth, two neck vertebrae, fragments of back vertebrae, 24 tail vertebrae, approximately 20 fragmentary ribs, two chevrons, and a piece of shoulder blade.[1]

References
  1. D’Emic, Michael D. (2012). "Revision of the sauropod dinosaurs of the Lower Cretaceous Trinity Group, southern USA, with the description of a new genus". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 11 (6): 707–726. doi:10.1080/14772019.2012.667446.
  2. http://www.dinochecker.com/dinosaurs/ASTROPHOCAUDIA
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