An overview of the appendicular skeletal anatomy of South American titanosaurian sauropods, with definition of a newly recognized clade.

In the last two decades, the number of phylogenetically informative anatomical characters recognized in the appendicular skeleton of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs has increased dramatically with the discovery of new and comparatively complete specimens. Here we provide an overview of the appendicular skeletal morphology of South American titanosaurs and discuss its significance for phylogenetic reconstruction. The appendicular skeletal diversity of South American titanosaurs is substantially greater than was initially appreciated.

A gigantic new dinosaur from Argentina and the evolution of the sauropod hind foot.

Titanosauria is an exceptionally diverse, globally-distributed clade of sauropod dinosaurs that includes the largest known land animals. Knowledge of titanosaurian pedal structure is critical to understanding the stance and locomotion of these enormous herbivores and, by extension, gigantic terrestrial vertebrates as a whole. However, completely preserved pedes are extremely rare among Titanosauria, especially as regards the truly giant members of the group.