Titanosaur

Long ago, before man even came into the world, it was overrun by majestic creatures that belonged to the reptile section. These creatures were large and had a very huge lifespan as well. Some were herbivores and some were straight-up carnivores. However, one thing is for sure. There were some creatures that were bigger than the others. The creature that we are talking about is known as Titanosaurus. These creatures used to be considered as one particular species of the dinosaurs that were a part of the earth’s life cycle.

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These dinosaurs were also fabled to be one of the largest species of dinosaurs and also the heaviest ones that walked the entire surface of the earth. Not to mention that these creatures formed a very important part of the studies that are done today on dinosaurs. So, for those who need to gather some information on the Titanosaurus dinosaur, this is the perfect place to be. We are going to provide some important details about the creature that people might need to know. The details provided in this article might help in revealing some important information about one of the largest species of dinosaurs to walk the earth.

What Exactly is a Titanosaurus Dinosaur?

The titanosaurs have been considered to be members of the very well-known groups that are called Titanosauridae or Titanosauria. These dinosaurs were known to be a very diverse and interesting group that included several sauropod members as well. Some of the other examples of this group include Isisaurus and Saltasaurus. These dinosaurs were not only large in size but were also pretty heavy when compared to the other species of dinosaurs that roamed the earth. In fact, the species such as Paralititan and Argentinosaurus were a part of the Titanosaurus family and they almost weighed up to about 100 tonnes in total. Some would even go double in the weight as well. Not to mention that the name of such dinosaurs came from the Titans who are pretty mighty and majestic themselves. So, there is no doubt that these dinosaurs were some of the largest ones to ever exist on the planet of earth. Another important detail to keep in mind about the titanosaur is that this particular dinosaur was considered to be the relative of Brachiosaurus as well. Together they would form the clade known as Titanosauriformes that was pretty large in itself.

Description of The Titanosaurus Anatomy

The titanosaurs were dinosaurs that had huge bodies but when compared to the other sauropods, had really small heads for sure. Not to mention that the head was pretty wide in the size as well. These heads would have similar features with Brachiosaurus and the Camarasaurus as well. However, their heads were much more elongated than the above-mentioned species. Apart from that, the nostrils of these dinosaurs used to be pretty large to look at. This means that they were Macronarian in nature. Also, the noses would all have crests that were a result of the nasal bones that were present in the structure. The teeth of these dinosaurs were spatulate in certain cases because they resembled the shape of a spoon. However, there were certain other cases where the teeth would resemble the pencils or the pegs and would be pretty small as well.

Another important detail about the titanosaur is that the neck of this dinosaur used to be really short. This is when the size of the neck is compared to other sauropods as well. The structure of their tails would be like the whips. However, they were not really long when compared to other species such as Diplodocids. Apart from that, the pelvic region of these dinosaurs was pretty slimmer than some other sauropods in nature.

The chest or the pectoral region was pretty wide in nature. This meant that the stance these dinosaurs had would be pretty much wide-gauged. We know all these details about this particular dinosaur because of the fossilized trackways that are certainly considered to be broader and more widely as well. These dinosaurs had stocky limbs, on the rear side and the front side as well. The backbones had vertebrae that were pretty much solid and not really hollowed out completely. Hence, the dinosaurs were pretty agile when compared to the other relatives and cousins that they had in the Sauropods group.

From the different skin impressions that have been discovered with the help of fossils, paleontologists have come to a very astonishing conclusion. The skin that was on the bodies of so many species of Titanosaurus dinosaur species were made of smaller scales that had the structure of beads. These scales would be wrapped with larger scales giving a very unique and distinct feature to the titanosaurs for sure. One of the species of the Titanosaur also known as Saltasaurus used to have bony little plates just like their relative Ankylosaurus.

Titanosaur Size

There have been so many details provided about the size of the Titanosaurus dinosaur and there is simply not a single speck of doubt that they were pretty large. As we have already discussed, not only were they larger in size but they also had very high weights as well. However, despite being one of the largest creatures on earth, there were some exceptions too.

Most of the creatures belonging to the Titanosaur family were pretty large. But then there were some who were smaller in size when compared to the others. According to recent research, there were certain dinosaurs that dwelled on the islands and they were subjected to dwarfism. One very important example of such a dinosaur species would be Magyarosaurus. This dinosaur was not only smaller in size but it had a lot of other differences from the usual members of the Titanosaur family as well.

Range of The Titanosaurus

When it comes to the range of the Titanosaurus, there are certain details that you might not want to miss. We all are familiar with the fact that Titanosaurus dinosaurs were considered to be the last group that was great in Sauropods. This was before the extinction event happened in the Cretaceous-Tertiary period about 90-65 million years ago. These organisms were actually dominant herbivores during their times. There is even some sort of fossil evidence which states that they were actually the replacement for some other sauropods. The Titanosaurs acted as the replacement for species such as Brachiosaurus, and Diplodocids. These dinosaurs died during the entire mid-Cretaceous period and were replaced by the successor known as the Titanosaur species.

One thing to know about these dinosaurs is that they were indeed very widespread during their time. Most of the Titanosaurs used to dwell in the different Southern continents. These continents were then a complete part of the Gondwana supercontinent. Some of them even resided in Australia.

There have been several fossil finds in the Queensland area of Australia as this area was deemed to be Titanosaurid in nature. The rock findings from the different outback towns in the Queensland area actually supported this theory that this land used to be home to very large titanosaurs in the first place. So, it can be safely said that the range of the Titanosaur was pretty large and they were completely spread all over the world. This is what makes them so great as the entire group of Sauropods.

What Was the Diet of a Titanosaur?

By now we are pretty sure that you have unearthed the fact that Titanosaurus dinosaur types were herbivores in nature. So, what exactly was included in their diet? Read this section carefully if you want to know what these majestic and large creatures used to eat in order to retain their energy. Well, some fossilized dung which was in association with Cretaceous breeds of Titanosaurids revealed important information. Research experts found traces of Phytoliths in this dung which were basically silicified remains and fragments of plants. So, these findings definitely suggest that these dinosaurs had an unselective and broad diet consisting of different types of plants.

Apart from the different plant remains, there were also some findings of monocotyledons as well. This is something that is only found in grasses and palms. Hence, there is no doubt that they used all these things in their diet. Not to mention that there were also some traces of the bamboo and rice ancestors too. These creatures definitely had a very broad and diverse diet consisting of different elements. We hope that after reading this article, you will be able to gather some more information about the food habits and the diet of these dinosaurs in a better way.

Systematics: Some Information About The Dinosaurs

It is safe to say that Titanosaur dinosaurs were one of the successful groups of Sauropods and they were also very widely-known as well. These dinosaurs actually represented about 1/3rd of the entire diverse group of the Sauropods. However, it is also a very shocking thing to know that the fossil record for these dinosaurs is pretty low in itself. There have only been 50 different types of discoveries about the dinosaurs and it is a shame to see that there is not much information about the growth as well as the extinction of the group as well.

All we know about the Titanosaurs is that they were basically named after one of the poorly recognized genera that went by the name of Titanosaurus. Richard Lydekker was the person responsible for the coining of the name in the year 1877. The name came from the two incomplete vertebrae and the partial femur that was found in one of the fossil samples. So, for those who want to know some more information about the dinosaur, there is some information that they can get from this particular article in the best way.