Australodocus

Oss-trah-lo-doe-kus.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Australodocus ‭(‬Southern beam‭)‬.

Phonetic

Oss-trah-lo-doe-kus.

Named By

Kristian Remes‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007.‭

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Macronaria,‭ ‬Camarasauromorpha,‭ ‬Titanosauriformes.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

A.‭ ‬bohetii

Size

About‭ ‬15‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

Tanzania‭ ‬-‭ ‬Tendaguru Beds.

Time Period

Tithonian of the Jurassic.

Fossil representation

Partial post cranial remains.‭ ‬Many of the original fossils have been destroyed.

In Depth

       Fossils of Australodocus were first recovered in‭ ‬1909‭ ‬by the famous German palaeontologist Werner Janensch,‭ ‬however they were not described until‭ ‬2007.‭ ‬Further to this,‭ ‬not all of the original specimens could be studied since many of them were destroyed in World War‭ ‬2.‭ ‬Out of the surviving bones,‭ ‬some of the vertebrae had bifurcate‭ (‬two as opposed to one‭) ‬neural spines,‭ ‬a feature similar to that of the famous North American genus Diplodocus,‭ ‬and hence the reason for Australodocus being treated as a diplodocid.‭ ‬Later study has now re-interpreted the remains as those of macronarian sauropod,‭ ‬those that are similar to Camarasaurus and Brachiosaurus.‭

       This is further supported by study of the paleoflora of the Tendaguru beds which reveal the abundant presence of conifer trees.‭ ‬It would have been somewhat awkward for a diplodocid to feed from these kinds of plants,‭ ‬since they are better adapted for browsing lower down.‭ ‬A macronarian sauropod carries its head higher than a diplodocid,‭ ‬and would therefore have an easier time feeding upon the taller braches of trees.       The Tendaguru Beds have yielded many sauropod genera,‭ ‬including Tornieria, Janenschia,‭‭ ‬Dicraeosaurus and Giraffatitan.‭ ‬Other kinds of dinosaurs such as theropods were also active,‭ ‬although many of these are poorly represented and are dubious entries for validity.‭ ‬One genus however was the six meter long Elaphrosaurus,‭ ‬and although singly not capable of taking on a fully grown adult Australodocus,‭ ‬this theropod genus might have been a serious threat to smaller juveniles.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A second Gondwanan diplodocid dinosaur from the Upper Jurassic Tendaguru Beds of Tanzania,‭ ‬East Africa,‭ ‬Kristian Remes‭ ‬-‭ ‬2007. -‭ ‬Re-evaluation of Australodocus bohetii,‭ ‬a putative diplodocoid sauropod from the Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania,‭ ‬with comment on Late Jurassic sauropod faunal diversity and palaeoecology,‭ ‬John Whitlock‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011. -‭ ‬A phylogenetic analysis of Diplodocoidea‭ (‬Saurischia:‭ ‬Sauropoda‭)‬,‭ ‬John Whitlock‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.

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