Restos caudais de Titanosauridae da Formação Adamantina (Turoniano-Santoniano), Sítio do Prata, Estado de Minas Gerais, Brasil

Abstract

Titanosauridae remains are very common fossils in the Brazilian Cretaceous outcrops. The site were the vertebrae was found (19o e 49o 14´42.6´´W ) stays approximately 40 km from Prata town (MG), on the margin of the Prata-Campina Verde road. A Titanosauridae caudal vertebrae associated to its chevron ir reported here. The vertebral centrum is deep PROVAS 27´26.0´´S and relatively low, procelic, and bears a cordiform anterior articular facet. A dorsally open haemal canal indicates that the caudal vertebrae belongs to a Camarasauromorpha. We have securely associated this vertebrae to Titanosauridae as it bears one of the synapomorphies of this taxon – procelic caudal vertebrae. The cordiform posterior articular facet and wide prezigapophyses allowed us to related the vertebrae in question to the genera Gondwanatitan and Aeolosaurus. Recently, a titanosaurid was reported for the same locality here studied. However, it does not present the diagnostic characters of Gondwanatitan and Aeolosaurus. A more detailed study should be made