New contributions to the phylogenetic position of the sauropod galvesaurus herreroi from the late Kimmeridgian-early tithonian (Jurassic) of teruel (Spain)

Abstract

Galvesaurus herreroi is a sauropod from the Villar del Arzobispo Formation (late Kimmeridgian-early Tithonian), from the municipality of Galve (Teruel). Its phylogenetic relations have been long debated, so we carried out a phylogenetic analysis, using a new data matrix recently published by Carballido et al. (2017). The characters of Galvesaurus were coded on the basis of the redescription of the published remains and the description of two unpublished fossils: a right coracoid and a fragment of the right pubis. The results of the analysis suggest the inclusion of Galvesaurus in the clade Titanosauriformes, as a sister taxon to Lusotitan, these two taxa form part of the Brachiosauridae clade. Likewise, a stratigraphic study was undertaken, placing the Galvesaurus site in the lower part of the Villar del Arzobispo Formation, thus assigning the sauropod a late Kimmeridgian-early Tithonian age.