Palaeobiology and osteohistology of South African sauropodomorph dinosaurs.

ABSTRACT: Several sauropodomorph dinosaurs have been excavated from the Elliot Formation (EF) of Southern Africa which include important taxa such as Massospondylus, Melanorosaurus and Antetonitrus. The study of the bone microstructure of smaller, bipedal Sauropodomorpha and larger, quadrupedal Sauropoda allow us to infer how the growth dynamics changed during the evolution of gigantism. Historically, osteohistological studies of Sauropodomorpha tended to have focused on either early diverging taxa (e.g. Plateosaurus & Massospondylus) or on derived taxa (diplodocids & titanosaurs), whereas studies on the growth dynamics of the transitionary groups (i.e. Sauropodiformes & early Sauropoda) are poorly known. Here, we assess the palaeobiology of two sauropodiformes and an early sauropod by analysing the

SUBMITTER: Toefy FY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12397067 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature