In Depth
Named after the city of Tamba in Japan, Tambatitanis is a genus of titanosaur that lived in what is now Japan during the early Cretaceous. Though so far only known from partial remains, the anterior caudal (tail) vertebrae of the holotype specimen have already caused a stir amongst palaeontologists because the neural spines of the vertebrae which usually just point upwards in other dinosaurs, actually curve around to face forwards. Why the neural spines should do this is not yet fully known, but the unusual shape of the vertebrae may have allowed for an altered musculature that enabled Tambatitanis to move their tails around in a different manner or even range of motion. This in turn might mean a lifestyle where the tail was used more, perhaps to signal other members of the same species.
Further Reading
- A new titanosauriform sauropod (Dinosauria: Saurischia) from the Lower Cretaceous of Hyogo, Japan. Zootaxa 3848(1):1-66. - H. Saegusa & T. Ikeda - 2014.
