Magyarosaurus
Name:
Magyarosaurus
(Magyar lizard).
Phonetic: Mag-yar-oh-sore-us.
Named By: Friedrich von Huene - 1932.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda, Titanosauria.
Species: M. dacus (type),
M.
hungaricus.
Type: Herbivore.
Size: 6 meters long.
Known locations: Europe, Romania.
Time period: Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: 10 individuals, possibly
more.
Magyarosaurus
is considered the smallest titanosaur,
and is regarded as a fine
example of insular dwarfism. This is where animals that live in an
area of limited size, such as an island, grow smaller so as not to
use up the available food supply. Although some have made the
suggestion that Magyarosaurus specimens are merely
juveniles of larger
species, subsequent studies have proven that they are indeed adults
and at the upper limit of their maximum potential size.
The
insular dwarfism theory is further reinforced by the fact that
Magyarosaurus is only known from the area that was
once known as Hateg
Island. Today this land mass is part of Romania, but back in the
Cretaceous it was an island that was seperated from what would become
mainland Europe. This led to many dinosaurs, not just
Magyarosaurus, evolving into smaller forms of
their ancestors.
The
type species Magyarosaurus dacus is derived from
the word
‘Magyar’, a tribe of people that settled modern day Hungary. The
species name is in reference to the Dacian people of Romania.
Further reading
- Die fossile Reptil-Ordnung Saurischia, ihre Entwicklung und
Geschichte - F. von Huene - 1932.
- Small body size and extreme cortical bone remodeling indicate
phyletic dwarfism in Magyarosaurus dacus (Sauropoda: Titanosauria). -
K. Stein, Z. Csiki, K. Curry Rogers, D. B. Weishampel, R. Redelstorff,
J. L. Carballido & P.M. Sander - 2010.
-
First evidence of reproductive adaptation to "island effect" of a dwarf
Cretaceous Romanian titanosaur, with embryonic integument in ovo. -
PLoS ONE. 7 (3): e32051. - Gerald Grellet-Tinner, Vlad Codrea, Annelise
Folie, Alessandra Higa, & Thierry Smith - 2012
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