View source for Biology:Clasmodosaurus

{{Short description|Extinct genus of dinosaurs}}
{{Speciesbox
|fossil_range = [[Earth:Late Cretaceous|Late Cretaceous]], {{fossilrange|97|90}}
|genus = Clasmodosaurus
|parent_authority = Ameghino, 1898
|species = spatula
|authority = Ameghino, 1898
}}

'''''Clasmodosaurus''''' (meaning "fragmentary tooth reptile") is a [[Biology:Genus|genus]] of [[Biology:Titanosauria|titanosauria]]n sauropod [[Biology:Dinosaur|dinosaur]] from the [[Earth:Bajo Barreal Formation|Bajo Barreal Formation]].<ref>"63.2 Provincia de Chubut, Argentina; 2. Bajo Barreal Formation," in Weishampel, et al. (2004). Page 602.</ref> It lived during the [[Earth:Late Cretaceous|Late Cretaceous]] in what is now {{wipe|Argentina}}. It is known only from three fossilized teeth, and is therefore a tooth taxon. It is a ''[[Biology:Nomen dubium|nomen dubium]]''.<ref name=Dinosauria/><ref>[http://dinosaurier-info.de/animals/dinosaurs/pages_c/clasmodosaurus.php ''Clasmodosaurus'']</ref>

The [[Biology:Type species|type species]], ''Clasmodosaurus spatula'', was described by Argentine [[Biology:Paleontology|paleontologist]] Florentino Ameghino in 1898. For a long time, these teeth were thought to belong to a theropod. The teeth of ''Clasmodosaurus spatula'' were polygonal in cross section rather than round, an unusual trait also found in the [[Biology:Titanosaur|titanosaur]] ''[[Biology:Bonitasaura|Bonitasaura salgadoi]]''.<ref name=Bonitasaura/>

== History ==
''Clasmodosaurus'' was named by Florentino Ameghino in 1898, but remained largely unknown for decades after its discovery.<ref name=Huene1929/> It was originally considered a sauropod, but Friedrich von Huene suggested that it could be a coelurosaur or synonymous with ''[[Biology:Loncosaurus|Loncosaurus]]'', which he considered to be a carnosaur.<ref name=Powell2003/> Like ''Loncosaurus'', its taxonomy remained unclear with it regarded as a theropod on the rare occasions it was mentioned.<ref name=Powell2003/> However, Jaime Powell suggested that it was a dubious genus of sauropod in 1986, an identification which has been accepted since. Like diplodocoids and titanosaurs, it had narrow tooth crowns, and it is typically regarded as a titanosaur like most Late Cretaceous sauropods.<ref name=Powell2003/>

== References ==
{{Reflist|2|refs=
<ref name=Dinosauria>{{cite book | chapter = Sauropoda | year = 2004 | title = The Dinosauria | edition = 2nd | first1 = P. | last1 = Upchurch | first2 = P. M. | last2 = Barrett | first3 = P. | last3 = Dodson | pages = 259–322 | editor1-last = Weishampel | editor1-first = D. B. | editor2-first = P. | editor2-last = Dodson | editor3-first = H. | editor3-last = Osmólska | isbn = 978-0520254084}}</ref>
<ref name=Bonitasaura>{{cite journal | year = 2011 | title = Cranial anatomy and phylogenetic position of the titanosaurian sauropod ''Bonitasaura salgadoi'' | first1 = P. A. | last1 = Gallina | first2 = S. | last2 = Apesteguía | journal = Acta Palaeontologica Polonica | volume = 56 | issue = 1 | pages = 45–60 | doi = 10.4202/app.2010.0011 | doi-access = free | hdl = 11336/192915 | hdl-access = free }}</ref>
<ref name=Powell2003>Powell JE. 2003. Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs: palaeobiological, palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects. Records of the Queen Victoria Museum 111:1–173.</ref>
<ref name=Huene1929>von Huene F. 1929. Los Saurisquios y ornithisquios del Cretaceo Argentino. Anales del Museo de la Plata.</ref>
}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1768702}}

[[Category:Titanosaurs]]
[[Category:Nomina dubia]]



{{Sourceattribution|Clasmodosaurus}}