Pronunciation: ty-TAN-oh-SOR-rih-formz
Authors: Salgado, Coria, and Calvo
Year: 1997
Meaning: Giant lizard-shaped (see etymology)
Locomotion: Quadrupedal (four legs)
Synonyms: None known
[Taylor, 2009]Definition
The most recent common ancestor of
Brachiosaurus altithorax and Saltasaurus loricatus, and all its descendants.
About
Titanosauriformes is a group of herbivorous, four-legged, long-necked dinosaurs that encompasses Brachiosauridae and Titanosauria and contains both the largest and smallest known sauropods. They inhabited diverse environments, from forests to floodplains on all of the world's continents, including Antarctica, and thrived from the Late Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous.
Click here to search DinoChecker for Titanosauriformes.
Etymology
Titanosauriformes is derived from the Greek "titan" (giant) and "sauros" (lizard), and the Latin "iformes" (shaped, in form).
Relationships
References
• Salgado L, Coria RA and Calvo JO (1997) "Evolution of titanosaurid sauropods. I: phylogenetic analysis based on the postcranial evidence". Ameghiniana, 34: 3-32.
• Taylor MP (2009) "A re-evaluation of Brachiosaurus Altithorax (Riggs, 1903) and its generic seperation from Giraffititan Brancai (Janensch, 1914)". 
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 29(3): 787-806.
• D'Emic MD (2012) "The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 166(3): 624-671.
• Mannion PD, Upchurch P, Barnes RN and Mateus O (2013) "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms".
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 168(1): 98-206. DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12029.
• de Souza LM and R M Santucci RM (2014) "Body size evolution in Titanosauriformes (Sauropoda, Macronaria)". Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 27(9): 2001-2012. DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12456.
Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 29(3): 787-806.
• D'Emic MD (2012) "The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 166(3): 624-671.
• Mannion PD, Upchurch P, Barnes RN and Mateus O (2013) "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms".
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 168(1): 98-206. DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12029.
• de Souza LM and R M Santucci RM (2014) "Body size evolution in Titanosauriformes (Sauropoda, Macronaria)". Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 27(9): 2001-2012. DOI: 10.1111/jeb.12456.
