Titanosauriform teeth from the Cretaceous of Japan

ABSTRACT

Sauropod teeth from six localities in Japan were reexamined. Basal titanosauriforms were present in Japan during the Early Cretaceous before Aptian, and there is the possibility that the Brachiosauridae may have been included. Basal titanosauriforms with peg-like teeth were present during the "mid" Cretaceous, while the Titanosauria with peg-like teeth was present during the middle of Late Cretaceous. Recent excavations of Cretaceous sauropods in Asia showed that multiple lineages of sauropods lived throughout the Cretaceous in Asia. Japanese fossil records of sauropods are conformable with this hypothesis.

RESUMO

Dentes de saurópodes de seis localidades no Japão foram re-examinados. Titanosauriformes basais estiveram presentes no Japão durante o Cretáceo Inferior antes do Aptiano, e existe a possibilidade de que os Brachiosauridae integrassem este grupo. Titanosauriformes basais com dentes similares a pregos estiveram presentes durante o Cretáceo Médio, enquanto Titanosauria com dentes similares a pregos estava presente durante meados do Cretáceo Superior. Escavações recentes de saurópodes do Cretáceo na Ásia mostraram que múltiplas linhagens de saurópodes viveram ao longo do Cretáceo na Ásia. Registros fósseis japoneses de saurópodes são concordantes com esta hipótese.