An article published in the journal “PLoS ONE journal” describes the analysis of the fossil skull of a sauropod dinosaur discovered in Patagonia, Argentina. Called Sarmientosaurus musacchioi, it was a titanosaur, the group the largest dinosaurs ever lived belonged to. A team led by Rubén Martínez of the Laboratorio de Paleovertebrados of the Universidad Nacional de la Patagonia San Juan Bosco (UNPSJB) discovered that it had developed senses.
The exceptionally preserved skull and a few neck vertebrae of Sarmientosaurus musacchioi were found in the Bajo Barreal Formation of the Chubut province in the central Patagonia. Titanosaurs heads are very rare despite the fact that this is a group with over 60 identified species. This is the first found in the southern area of South America.
This Sarmientosaurus musacchioi specimen lived about 95 million years ago and was discovered in 1997 by paleontologist Rubén Martínez. Based on the characteristics of the bones found, it was estimated that the its body was around 12 meters (40 feet) long for a 10 ton weight. However, only recently technologies such as CT-scans became more and more common for fossil exams and this is the reason why this research was carried out only now.
According to the paleontologists who examined the skull of Sarmientosaurus musacchioi, it had a small brain compared to its body, as was typical of sauropod dinosaurs. However, it has several distinctive features that haven’t been observed in other species of that group. In particular, this animal had particularly developed senses.
The characteristics of the Sarmientosaurus musacchioi skull indicate that it had big eyes and a good vision. Its hearing was good as well, especially concerning low-frequency sounds, that he perceived better than others titanosaurs. The analysis of its balance organ in its inner ear suggests that it kept its snout facing downward so it’s possible that it ate mostly low-growing plants. It is also possible it took its food from plants of different heights.
The CT-scan established the pneumaticity of its neck vertebrae, meaning that they were hollow.That’s not a surprise because paleontologists already discovered this characteristic years ago in dinosaurs, which became important in birds ancestors to have bones lightweight enough to allow them to develop the ability to fly.
As often happens, paleontologists have to study a species based on a few fossil bones. The discovery of the skull and a few neck vertebrae of Sarmientosaurus musacchioi are still a great discovery and the recent exams confirm its importance. This species shows that there was considerable diversity among titanosaurs but only more findings will allow to really understand the history of this group of dinosaurs.
