#tharosaurus

[makairodonx]

This newly-discovered sauropod was the oldest Dicraeosaurid and Diplodocid that has ever lived, hailing from the mid-Jurassic of what is Jaisalmer Formation of Rajastan, India, 168-165 million years ago

Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation - Scientific Reports

The Early Jurassic and Cretaceous deposits of India are known for their diverse sauropod fauna, while little is known from the Middle and La

[dinodorks]

[ Fossilised caudal vertebrae of Tharosaurus indicus. ]

"A team of researchers from India has discovered fossils of a new dicraeosaurid from the Indian city of Jaisalmer in western India. These fossils, dating back to 167 million years, include bones separated at the joints but associated with specimens of the central body bones spread over an area of 270 square feet ( 25- square meters). The dicraeosaurid, called Tharosaurus Indicus in reference to the Thar desert where the fossils were found, is the first ever discovered in India and the oldest in the world’s fossil record. "The significance of this discovery rests in its antiquity," said Sunil Bajpai, a vertebrate paleontologist at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee and an author of the study, in an interview with Economic Times. The team of five began their work in 2018 when they discovered these fossils. The team acknowledged that the material in their possession is fragmentary, and there is a possibility that as more evidence is recovered, there might be a change in their taxonomic attribution; the fact remains that Tharosaurus Indicus currently is the oldest known diplodocoid. “...the discovery of Tharosaurus makes India a major center for not only diplodocoid but neosauropod radiation,” said the authors in the study. The discovery of Tharosaurus suggests that India played a significant role in the emergence and diversification of neosauropods, a group of long-necked vegetarian dinosaurs that thrived as the largest land animals, explained Debajit Datta, co-author of the study, in an interview with The New York Times."

Read more: "Fossils of 167-million-year-old dinosaur are the oldest of its kind" by Sejal Sharma.

[totaldino]

Tharosaurus

Tharosaurus is an early-diverging dicraeosaurid sauropod, and the earliest diplodocoid currently known. Dicraeosaurids are advanced sauropods characterized by relatively small body size, short necks, and long neural spines. They were herbivorous and primarily browsed close to the ground or at mid-height, due to the shape of their necks and skulls.

[new-dinosaurs]

Tharosaurus indicus Bajpai et al., 2023 (new genus and species)

(Neck vertebrae of Tharosaurus indicus [scale bars = 50 mm], from Bajpai et al., 2023)

Meaning of name: Tharosaurus = Thar Desert lizard [in Greek]; indicus = from India

Age: Middle Jurassic (Bathonian)

Where found: Jaisalmer Formation, Rajasthan, India

How much is known: Several partial vertebrae and a rib.

Notes: Tharosaurus was a sauropod. Although it is known from fragmentary remains, the describers of Tharosaurus found it to be a diplodocoid sauropod in their analyses, which would make it a member of the lineage more closely related to Diplodocus and Apatosaurus than to Brachiosaurus. More specifically, it may have been a dicraeosaurid, a group of diplodocoids probably best known for including the bizarre Amargasaurus and Bajadasaurus from the Cretaceous of South America. If this classification turns out to be accurate, Tharosaurus would be the oldest known diplodocoid, and may suggest that the Indian subcontinent was an important region for their early evolution.

Reference: Bajpai, S., D. Datta, P. Pandey, T. Ghosh, K. Kumar, and D. Bhattacharya. 2023. Fossils of the oldest diplodocoid dinosaur suggest India was a major centre for neosauropod radiation. Scientific Reports 13: 12680. doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-39759-2

[yagizcomics]

Tharosaurus walking in front of some nicely copy-pasted trees

[ibrav3520]

Yknow those moments where you like it's a weird part of day like super early morning or late at night and then you remember an interest you have and you for some god forsaken reason search too much about it! It can be an old fucking show or something just really neat!

Anyway at 7 am in the morning so far, I have learned that last year a new dinosaur was discovered called Tharosaurus!

It is the earliest known Dicreaosaurid and the oldest known Diplodocoid!!!!

It lived during the Jurassic period

In other news I have also learned that according to recent studies (Literally the Wikipedia article I read), Amargasaurus's spines were covered from top to bottom in a sail!!!! Which I am happy about!

[vineetakamal]

Oldest Dicraeosaurus Dinosaur Fossils Unearthed in India- Tharosaurus indicus - AnthroMania

Oldest Dicraeosaurus Dinosaur Fossils Unearthed in India- Tharosaurus indicus in the Jaisalmer Formation in western India's Rajasthan region.