August 25 , 2016

The upper Campanian-lower Maastrichtian site of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain) has provided a set of well-preserved partial skeletons in anatomical connection or with a low dispersion of their skeletal elements. One partial skeleton is herein described and a new titanosaurian sauropod is established, Lohuecotitan pandafilandi. This titanosaur is diagnosed by eight autapomorphic features: dorsally and ventrally widened or bifurcated posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in anterior and middle dorsal vertebrae; short postspinal lamina with a transversely expanded distal end represented by smooth scars in the dorsal vertebrae; anteriormost caudals with the medial spinoprezygapophyseal and medial spinopostzygapophyseal laminae ventrally connected with the prespinal and postspinal laminae, respectively; anterior caudal neural spines with a dorsal projection of the prespinal and postspinal laminae; anterior caudal neural spines bears a “greek-cross”-like cross-section; middle caudal centra having two round and rough structures in the dorsal edge of the posterior articulation, which extends to the dorsal surface of the centrum; the articular ends of the rami of the haemal arches are divided in two articular surfaces; and tuberosity between the anterior and the lateral trochanter of the fibula. The herein performed phylogenetic analysis considered L. pandafilandi as a member of Lithostrotia more derived than Malawisaurus. The known palaeodiversity of the Late Cretaceous Ibero-Armorican titanosaurs is increasing, and further analyses focused on this group will be necessary to better understand the evolutionary history of European titanosaurs and to clarify their relationships within Titanosauria.

V. Díez Díaz, P. Mocho, A. Páramo, F. Escaso, F. Marcos-Fernández, J.L. Sanz & F. Ortega (2016)
A new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Lo Hueco (Cuenca, Spain).
Cretaceous Research (advance online publication)
doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2016.08.001