Macronaria

Macronaria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs. Macronarians are named after the large diameter of the nasal opening of their skull, known as the external naris, which exceeded the size of the orbit, the skull opening where the eye is located. Fossil evidence suggests that macronarian dinosaurs lived from the Middle Jurassic (Bathonian) through the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian). Macronarians have been found globally, including discoveries in Argentina, the United States, Portugal, China, and Tanzania. Like other sauropods, they are known to have inhabited primarily terrestrial areas, and little evidence exists to suggest that they spent much time in coastal environments. Macronarians are diagnosed through their distinct characters on their skulls, as well as appendicular and vertebral characters. Macronaria is composed of several subclades and families notably including Camarasauridae and Titanosauriformes, among several others. Titanosauriforms are particularly well known for being some of the largest terrestrial animals to ever exist.

Macronaria

User:Dhoefgen James St. John User:Adrian Grycuk User:Ghedoghedo User:SSR2000 User:Tiouraren · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Sits inside
NeosauropodaPBDB
Diet
herbivorePBDB, for Sauropoda
Life habit
ground dwelling, gregariousPBDB, for Sauropoda
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Sauropoda
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Sauropoda

Time the record covers

At least 102 million years on record.

The record covers at least 174.7 Mya to 72.2 Mya. No occurrence read is dated outside 201.4 Mya to 66 Mya.

Late Triassic — about 0 of 1359 occurrencesEarly Jurassic — about 2 of 1359 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 11 of 1359 occurrencesMiddle JurassicLate Jurassic — about 274 of 1359 occurrencesLate JurassicEarly Cretaceous — about 260 of 1359 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 813 of 1359 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 0 of 1359 occurrences204–199 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences199–195 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences195–190 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences190–185 Mya — about 0.1 occurrences185–181 Mya — about 0.4 occurrences181–176 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences176–171 Mya — about 0.6 occurrences171–167 Mya — about 4 occurrences167–162 Mya — about 6 occurrences162–157 Mya — about 5 occurrences157–152 Mya — about 38 occurrences152–148 Mya — about 114 occurrences148–143 Mya — about 117 occurrences143–138 Mya — about 13 occurrences138–134 Mya — about 18 occurrences134–129 Mya — about 14 occurrences129–124 Mya — about 30 occurrences124–120 Mya — about 58 occurrences120–115 Mya — about 41 occurrences115–110 Mya — about 37 occurrences110–106 Mya — about 25 occurrences106–101 Mya — about 24 occurrences101–96 Mya — about 58 occurrences96–91 Mya — about 47 occurrences91–87 Mya — about 36 occurrences87–82 Mya — about 69 occurrences82–77 Mya — about 74 occurrences77–73 Mya — about 74 occurrences73–68 Mya — about 314 occurrences68–63 Mya — about 144 occurrences174.7 Mya72.2 Mya204 Mya63 Mya

1,359 occurrences of Macronaria on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

1,359 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

276 formations

Morrison — 39.07°N, 108.70°WMorrison — 42.04°N, 106.39°WMorrison — 42.02°N, 106.05°WMorrison — 43.38°N, 108.12°WMorrison — 43.63°N, 108.20°WMorrison — 40.44°N, 109.30°WMorrison — 38.81°N, 108.39°WMorrison — 41.91°N, 105.96°WMorrison — 38.54°N, 105.22°WMorrison — 41.88°N, 106.08°WMorrison — 39.24°N, 109.00°WMorrison — 44.54°N, 107.78°WMorrison — 44.65°N, 107.82°WMorrison — 41.97°N, 106.29°WMorrison — 38.73°N, 111.27°WMorrison — 38.58°N, 108.40°WMorrison — 36.93°N, 102.97°WMorrison — 38.64°N, 108.19°WMorrison — 39.01°N, 110.37°WMorrison — 44.53°N, 103.83°WMorrison — 43.41°N, 103.41°WMorrison — 44.46°N, 104.73°WMorrison — 35.32°N, 106.31°WMorrison — 42.15°N, 105.91°WMorrison — 36.90°N, 102.83°WMorrison — 39.17°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 44.18°N, 103.34°WMorrison — 45.45°N, 108.10°WMorrison — 35.20°N, 107.13°WMorrison — 39.08°N, 108.65°WMorrison — 40.50°N, 109.17°WMorrison — 44.02°N, 104.24°WMorrison — 44.84°N, 109.21°WMorrison — 43.65°N, 106.78°WMorrison — 44.09°N, 106.78°WMorrison — 44.68°N, 104.61°WMorrison — 38.71°N, 109.74°WMorrison — 38.92°N, 109.94°WMorrison — 41.98°N, 106.15°WMorrison — 44.63°N, 107.81°WMorrison — 39.68°N, 105.19°WMorrison — 35.52°N, 106.82°WMorrison — 37.31°N, 103.52°WMorrison — 38.85°N, 108.46°WMorrison — 39.15°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 39.32°N, 110.69°WMorrison — 40.41°N, 109.22°WMorrison — 37.50°N, 109.45°WMorrison — 38.38°N, 109.34°WMorrison — 44.05°N, 107.46°WMorrison — 44.47°N, 103.31°WMorrison — 40.46°N, 108.39°WMorrison — 38.25°N, 110.81°WMorrison — 38.45°N, 107.40°WMorrison — 44.09°N, 106.87°WMorrison — 37.53°N, 103.68°WMorrison — 40.49°N, 105.21°WMorrison — 45.54°N, 110.62°WMorrison — 46.85°N, 108.79°WMorrison — 39.01°N, 111.02°WVitakri — 29.70°N, 69.40°EVitakri — 29.71°N, 69.49°EVitakri — 29.77°N, 69.45°EVitakri — 29.89°N, 69.70°EVitakri — 29.67°N, 69.59°EVitakri — 27.76°N, 67.17°EVitakri — 30.96°N, 69.14°EVitakri — 29.51°N, 69.87°ETendaguru — 9.70°S, 39.23°ETendaguru — 9.69°S, 39.25°ELameta — 21.18°N, 80.37°ELameta — 23.35°N, 80.37°ELameta — 23.17°N, 79.97°ELameta — 23.06°N, 73.34°ELameta — 20.90°N, 79.28°ELameta — 20.75°N, 79.48°ELameta — 23.13°N, 73.38°ELameta — 20.75°N, 79.42°ELameta — 23.17°N, 79.95°ELameta — 21.00°N, 79.18°ELameta — 20.71°N, 79.29°ELameta — 20.35°N, 79.05°ELameta — 22.29°N, 74.53°ELameta — 21.42°N, 78.00°ELameta — 22.39°N, 75.25°EAllen — 39.30°S, 67.53°WAllen — 40.06°S, 66.80°WAllen — 38.76°S, 67.98°WAllen — 39.57°S, 66.98°WAllen — 38.82°S, 68.07°WAllen — 37.52°S, 69.22°WAllen — 38.45°S, 68.69°WAllen — 39.95°S, 66.57°WAllen — 39.43°S, 67.29°WAllen — 39.13°S, 67.67°WAllen — 40.73°S, 67.17°WAllen — 39.47°S, 67.33°WAllen — 39.91°S, 66.57°WAllen — 39.50°S, 67.37°WWinton — 22.68°S, 143.57°EWinton — 22.18°S, 142.47°EWinton — 22.15°S, 142.57°EWinton — 22.25°S, 142.48°EWinton — 22.35°S, 143.09°EWinton — 26.68°S, 142.59°EWinton — 22.09°S, 142.49°EWinton — 22.08°S, 143.51°EWinton — 22.38°S, 142.94°EAnacleto — 38.84°S, 68.04°WAnacleto — 39.25°S, 68.72°WAnacleto — 37.87°S, 67.83°WAnacleto — 39.12°S, 67.65°WAnacleto — 38.82°S, 68.07°WAnacleto — 37.88°S, 68.52°WAnacleto — 38.02°S, 68.50°WAnacleto — 38.09°S, 68.51°WAnacleto — 37.45°S, 68.94°WAnacleto — 38.84°S, 68.84°WAnacleto — 37.39°S, 69.14°WAnacleto — 35.45°S, 69.73°WAnacleto — 37.13°S, 69.33°WAnacleto — 39.38°S, 67.69°WSerra da Galga — 19.72°S, 47.75°WSerra da Galga — 19.72°S, 47.74°WSerra da Galga — 19.61°S, 47.97°WSerra da Galga — 19.60°S, 47.62°WAdamantina — 20.80°S, 49.38°WAdamantina — 21.10°S, 49.28°WAdamantina — 21.57°S, 51.28°WAdamantina — 21.94°S, 51.37°WAdamantina — 22.12°S, 51.44°WAdamantina — 21.63°S, 51.16°WAdamantina — 19.46°S, 49.25°WAdamantina — 25.73°S, 48.58°WAdamantina — 21.33°S, 48.58°WAdamantina — 20.97°S, 49.17°WAdamantina — 19.44°S, 49.26°WAdamantina — 19.44°S, 49.24°WAdamantina — 20.92°S, 50.45°WAdamantina — 21.74°S, 51.03°WAsencio — 33.87°S, 57.49°WAsencio — 32.66°S, 58.10°WAsencio — 34.53°S, 55.93°WAsencio — 33.06°S, 56.47°WAsencio — 33.63°S, 58.02°WAsencio — 33.72°S, 57.99°WAsencio — 33.22°S, 58.04°WAsencio — 33.12°S, 58.19°WAsencio — 32.19°S, 57.45°WAsencio — 33.00°S, 56.16°WAsencio — 32.64°S, 57.75°WAsencio — 31.93°S, 57.91°WAsencio — 33.05°S, 57.46°WAsencio — 32.39°S, 57.15°WAsencio — 32.11°S, 58.06°WAsencio — 33.86°S, 57.62°WBajo de la Carpa — 38.50°S, 68.71°WBajo de la Carpa — 39.63°S, 68.35°WBajo de la Carpa — 38.95°S, 68.23°WBajo de la Carpa — 39.73°S, 68.52°WBajo de la Carpa — 37.38°S, 68.90°WBajo de la Carpa — 38.18°S, 68.78°WBajo de la Carpa — 38.44°S, 68.73°WBajo de la Carpa — 37.61°S, 69.32°WSao Khua — 16.70°N, 102.25°ESao Khua — 16.68°N, 103.57°ESao Khua — 16.54°N, 104.14°ESao Khua — 16.43°N, 104.09°ESao Khua — 17.25°N, 102.67°ESao Khua — 17.07°N, 104.16°ESao Khua — 16.90°N, 102.65°ESao Khua — 17.25°N, 102.55°EMaevarano — 15.90°S, 46.58°EMaevarano — 15.93°S, 46.52°EMaevarano — 16.12°S, 45.74°EOjo Alamo — 36.31°N, 108.03°WOjo Alamo — 36.34°N, 108.10°WOjo Alamo — 36.17°N, 107.80°WOjo Alamo — 36.24°N, 108.89°WOjo Alamo — 36.27°N, 108.17°WCloverly — 44.98°N, 108.32°WCloverly — 46.30°N, 109.71°WCloverly — 44.04°N, 107.51°WCloverly — 44.65°N, 107.88°WCloverly — 44.51°N, 107.90°WCloverly — 44.50°N, 107.82°WCloverly — 44.48°N, 109.05°WCloverly — 44.44°N, 109.06°WCloverly — 45.19°N, 108.80°WPlottier — 36.94°S, 70.28°WPlottier — 37.39°S, 69.03°WPlottier — 37.06°S, 69.38°WPlottier — 37.38°S, 69.07°WPlottier — 39.30°S, 68.41°WMarília — 21.26°S, 48.52°WMarília — 18.89°S, 48.73°WMarília — 19.52°S, 49.47°WMarília — 19.58°S, 48.25°WMarília — 19.32°S, 48.11°WMarília — 18.86°S, 48.86°WMarília — 17.99°S, 51.05°WMarília — 18.34°S, 50.48°WMarília — 19.20°S, 49.77°WLourinhã — 39.04°N, 9.01°WLourinhã — 39.24°N, 9.34°WLourinhã — 39.27°N, 9.33°WLourinhã — 39.55°N, 8.98°WLourinhã — 39.85°N, 8.62°WLourinhã — 39.45°N, 9.21°WLourinhã — 39.87°N, 8.60°WLourinhã — 39.38°N, 9.32°WLourinhã — 39.53°N, 9.13°WJavelina — 29.40°N, 103.20°WJavelina — 29.46°N, 103.14°WJavelina — 29.34°N, 103.44°WJavelina — 29.41°N, 103.30°WJavelina — 29.58°N, 103.08°WJavelina — 29.46°N, 103.16°WDensuș-Ciula — 45.62°N, 22.78°EDensuș-Ciula — 45.62°N, 22.87°EDinosaur Beds — 10.28°S, 34.03°ESînpetru — 45.55°N, 22.92°ESînpetru — 45.62°N, 22.78°ESînpetru — 45.49°N, 23.09°ESînpetru — 45.56°N, 22.92°ECedar Mountain — 39.14°N, 110.90°WCedar Mountain — 38.85°N, 109.56°WCedar Mountain — 38.83°N, 109.47°WCedar Mountain — 39.18°N, 110.11°WCedar Mountain — 38.72°N, 109.69°WCedar Mountain — 40.44°N, 109.31°WCedar Mountain — 38.83°N, 109.27°WBajo Barreal — 45.32°S, 69.62°WBajo Barreal — 45.45°S, 69.22°WBajo Barreal — 45.99°S, 69.57°WBajo Barreal — 46.72°S, 69.67°WBajo Barreal — 44.89°S, 69.39°WBajo Barreal — 44.77°S, 69.18°W

Loading coastlines…

The named rock units Macronaria has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 252 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 107 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Macronaria and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Macronaria and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

945 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 1,116 sites for Macronaria, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

733 references

Each of the 1,359 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 721 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content1

Picture of Macronaria

Credit
User:Dhoefgen James St. John User:Adrian Grycuk User:Ghedoghedo User:SSR2000 User:Tiouraren
Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

No 3D scan was found. Smithsonian Open Access, MorphoSource and Sketchfab were all searched.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itNeosauropoda through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Sereno 1997