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Saraikimasoom vitakri
Taxonomy
Saraikimasoom vitakri was named by Malkani (2014). Its type specimen is MSM-142-4, a partial skull, and it is a 3D body fossil. Its type locality is Kinwa Kali Kakor, DL-4 (southern sites), which is in a Maastrichtian fluvial claystone in the Vitakri Formation of Pakistan.
Synonymy list
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If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.
†Saraikimasoom vitakri Malkani 2014
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Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| M. S. Malkani 2016 | rostrum is of generally long, narrow and moderate shallow shape (with 40° inclinations from horizontal). The anterior portions of upper and lower jaws are broadly arched forming U-shape. Teeth are long, narrow and slender. A tooth slenderness index seems to be 3–5. Its teeth are robust and straight relative to Gspsaurus. It shows dental formula 4, 13/11– 17(?). | |
| M. S. Malkani 2019 | Saraikimasoom vitakri is a very small sized stocky sauropod sharing with Titanosauria as procoelous caudals (except first biconvex caudal); forward insertion of neural arches on caudals, prominent olecranon process on ulna and vertebrae lacking hyposphene-hypantrum articulations. Saraikimasoom vitakri autapomorphies are very small sized spongy skull dorsal profile inclined moderately or 40 ̊ from horizontal; skull without anterior step; low angle palatine; premaxillary canal is reversely triangular and high angled V shaped; conical teeth con- verge and taper gradually from base of crown to tip; teeth are small, circular and slightly recurved: upper and lower U shaped teeth rows; dentary ramus anterior depth is slightly more than dentary at mid length: dentary with narrow anteroposteriorly symphyses; anterior dentary rounded (no chin or very small chin); dentary symphysis, perpendicular to axis of jaw ramus; dental formula 4, 13/9–13?; small braincase with sub rectangle shaped basioccipital condyles angles 120° (from skull roof) toward posteroventrally; Braincase has a prominent supraoccipital wedge and proatlantal facets; ventrally reduced broad caudals; trispinous distal caudals; and subcircular proximal tibia with equal anteroposterior and transverse width. | |
| M. S. Malkani 2020 | Saraikimasoom vitakri diagnosed as small skull located on long neck, round and massive body, short and stocky legs and broad tail. It host thick subsquare proximal tibia. The name-bearing and referred materials of Saraikimasoom vitakri are diagnostic and stable, which provides best cranial, axial and appendicular materials and characters dataset for phylogenetic and systematic studies. Saraikimasoom vitakri is a small sized stocky sauropod dinosaur sharing with the Titanosauria as vertebrae lacking hyposphene-hypantrum articulations, procoelous caudals (except first biconvex caudal), forward insertion of neural arches on caudals, prominent olecranon process on ulna, and anterior dorsal neural spines single (not bifurcated).
The Saraikimasoom vitakri shares with most derived forms poripuchian titanosaurs as anterior, middle and posterior caudals found procoelous (except first biconvex caudal). Poripuchia have all especially distal caudals as procoelous, while in lithostrotian distal caudals are not procoelous. Poripuchia is the most inclusive clade of Titanosauria containing Pakisaurus and Isisaurus pakisaurids, and Gspsaurus and Saraikimasoom gspsaurids titanosaurs. Poripuch is the Saraiki language word means full tail (with procoelous vertebrae). The Saraikimasoom vitakri shares with the Gspsauridae (small to medium sized stocky titanosaurs) as U-shaped anterior teeth row and jaw profile, anterior dentary rounded (no chin forming), highly vascularised and pneumatic rostrum and dentaries bones, broad reversed V-shaped palatal, V-shaped dorsal palatal hook attached on the contact of maxilla and premaxilla, slender and circular to slightly oval teeth with slender indices 3–5, teeth converge and taper on all sides gradually toward tip (opposite of pakisaurids teeth which have almost same thickness except tip), ratio of mid transverse width above and below of mid caudal centrum varies from 1 to 2 with ventral view of mid caudal centra are strongly compressed, proximal subcircular and distal transversely broad stocky tibia (unlike slender tibia of Pakisauridae) and mosaic type and large ellipsoidal osteoderms. Saraikimasoominae is the most inclusive clade containing Saraikimasoom vitakri but not Gspsaurus pakistani, with characters same as genus and species Sa- raikimasoom vitakri. Saraikimasoominae major differentiation features from Gspsaurinae are as U-shaped anterior dentaries symphyses profile, dentary symphysis orientation is perpendicular to axis of jaw ramus, relatively small sized skull (than Gspsaurinae), relatively small but more robust teeth (than Gspsaurinae), straight to recurved and circular to slightly oval conical and pointed teeth with gradually decreasing diameter toward tip, relatively small size (in thickness, width and length) dentaries rami (than Gspsaurinae), ventral view of mid caudal centra are strongly reduced/compressed with the ratio of mid transverse width above and below varies from 1.5 to 2 and circular to subcircular stockier tibia (than Gspsaurinae). Saraikimasoom vitakri autapomorphies are very small sized spongy snout with dorsal profile inclined moderately or 40° from horizontal; relatively short, broad and less deep skull without anterior step; low angle less than 25° pterygoid or palatine process (while Gspsaurus have about 45° pterygoid or palatine process); premaxillary canal is reversely triangular and high angled V shaped; teeth converge and taper gradually from base of crown to tip (while teeth of Pakisaurus and Rapetosaurus have constant thickness of teeth from base to tip); teeth are small, circular to subcircular, slightly recurved and rounded and pointed tips; teeth with slender indices vary from 3 - 5 (while Pakisaurus and Rapetosaurus have teeth with Slender Indices more than 5): upper and lower U shaped teeth rows (while Gspsaurus have upper U-shaped and lower V-shaped teeth rows); dentary ramus anterior depth is slightly more than dentary at mid length (while dentary ramus anterior depth of Gspsaurus is less than dentary at mid length): dentary with narrow anteroposteriorly symphysis (while Gspsaurus have long anteroposteriorly symphysis); anterior dentary rounded (no chin or very small chin); dentary symphysis, perpendicular to axis of jaw ramus (while in Gspsaurus it is an extension and not perpendular); dental formula 4, 13/9−13; small braincase with subrectangle shaped occipital condyle with sagital groove (while the Pakisaurus and probably Isisaurus have D-shaped occipital condyle and Gspsaurus have rectangle shaped occipital condyle); braincase has a prominent supraoccipital wedge and proatlantal facets; first caudal is biconvex and broad with relatively more long than Gspsaurus; ventrally reduced broad caudals (while Pakisaurus and Isisaurus have not ventrally reduced caudals, however in Gspsaurus ventral reduction ratio is less than 1.5); trirays procoelous distalmost caudal (while Pakisaurus have horizontal groove in the mid of distalmost caudal); transversely thick and expanded distal scapula; medially inset deltopectoral crest in proximal humerus; anteriorly exposed and expanded radial condyle of distal humerus (while Isisaurus have no expanded radial condyle); gracile ulna with long trirays; rectangle or subrectangle shaped cross section of shaft just below the femur head; subsquare shaped proximal tibia with equal anteroposterior and transverse width, and transversely quite broad distal tibia; very close articulation of proximal fibula and proximal tibia; proximal fibula orientation shifted the trend of proximal fibula from anteroposterior to almost mediolateral due to transversely expanded fibular condyle of proximal tibia (instead of anteroposterior or anteromedial to posterolateral orientation as in Pakisaurus and Isisaurus) when articulated with proximal tibia; osteoderms two types, the first small sub- oval or subrectangular mosaic type thick plate (more thick than the Gspsaurus mosaic plate) and secondly the large subcircular ellipsoidal plate without median cut or groove (while Gspsaurus and Malawisaurus both have large oval ellipsoidal plate with median goove or cut). |
Measurements
No measurements are available
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| Source: infrao = infraorder | |||||
| Reference: Marsh 1875 | |||||
Age range: Late/Upper Maastrichtian or 70.60000 to 66.00000 Ma
Collections (12 total)
| Time interval | Ma | Country or state | Original ID and collection number |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late/Upper Maastrichtian | Pakistan (Balochistan) | Balochisaurus malkani (type locality: 79428) Saraikimasoom vitakri (53153 79427 79429 79664 79665 79668 79669 79670 220141 220155 220156) |