More Thunder Lizards: Exploring the Evolution of Brachiosaurus, Giraffatitan and Relatives

Please enjoy this video examining the early evolution of the Nacronarian Sauropods; a diverse lineage that contained iconic towering animals such as Camarasaurus, Brachiosaurus and Sauroposeidon. https://www.patreon.com/c/DrPolaris Thumbnail art by Orribec Sources used for this video: Button, David J.; Barrett, Paul M.; Rayfield, Emily J. (November 2016). "Comparative cranial myology and biomechanics of Plateosaurus and Camarasaurus and evolution of the sauropod feeding apparatus". Palaeontology. 59 (6): 887–913. Bibcode:2016Palgy..59..887B. doi:10.1111/pala.12266. Campione, Nicolás E.; Evans, David C. (2020). "The accuracy and precision of body mass estimation in non-avian dinosaurs". Biological Reviews. 95 (6): 1759–1797. Bibcode:2020BioRv..95.1759C. doi:10.1111/brv.12638. ISSN 1469-185X. PMID 32869488. S2CID 221404013. Carpenter, Kenneth; Ikejiri, Takehito; Wilson, Yvonne (2026). "Postcranial anatomy of immature Camarasaurus specimens from Dinosaur National Monument, Utah, compared to the holotype of Camarasaurus lentus (Marsh, 1889)". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 102: 247–265. D'emic, Michael D. (2012-11-01). "The early evolution of titanosauriform sauropod dinosaurs". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (3): 624–671. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00853.x. hdl:2027.42/94293. D'Emic, M.D.; Foreman, B.Z.; Jud, N.A. (2016). "Anatomy, systematics, paleoenvironment, growth, and age of the sauropod dinosaur Sonorasaurus thompsoni from the Cretaceous of Arizona, USA". Journal of Paleontology. 90 (1): 102–132. Bibcode:2016JPal...90..102D. doi:10.1017/jpa.2015.67. S2CID 133054430. Ikejiri, Takehito (2005). "Distribution and biochronology of Camarasaurus (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of the Rocky Mountain Region". New Mexico Geological Society Field Conference Guidebook, Geology of the Chama Basin. 56: 367–379. Mannion, P. D.; Upchurch, Paul; Barnes, Rosie N.; Mateus, Octávio (2013). "Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms" (PDF). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 168: 98–206. doi:10.1111/zoj.12029. Marpmann, J.S.; Carballido, J.L.; Sander, P.M.; Knötschke, N. (2014). "Cranial anatomy of the Late Jurassic dwarf sauropod Europasaurus holgeri (Dinosauria, Camarasauromorpha): Ontogenetic changes and size dimorphism". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 13 (3): 1–43. doi:10.1080/14772019.2013.875074. Moser, Markus; Mathur, Umesh B.; Fürsich, Franz T.; Pandey, Dhirendra K.; Mathur, Neera (2006-03-01). "Oldest camarasauromorph sauropod (Dinosauria) discovered in the Middle Jurassic (Bajocian) of the Khadir Island, Kachchh, western India". Paläontologische Zeitschrift. 80 (1): 34–51. Bibcode:2006PalZ...80...34M. doi:10.1007/BF02988396. Natarajan, A.; Bhosale, S.; Rakshit, N.; Dasgupta, S. (2026). "A new diminutive Jurassic neosauropod from the Kaladongar Formation (Khadir Uplift) of the Kachchh Basin, western India". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e2677749. doi:10.1080/02724634.2026.2677749. Reutter, Alexandra; Carballido, José Luis; Windholz, Guillermo José; Pol, Diego; Rauhut, Oliver W. M. (2026-04-16). "Bicharracosaurus dionidei, gen. et sp. nov., a new macronarian (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Jurassic Cañadón Calcáreo Formation of Argentina and the problematic early evolution of macronarians". PeerJ. 14 e20945. doi:10.7717/peerj.20945. Artai A. Santos, Uxue Villanueva-Amadoz, Rafael Royo-Torres, Luis Miguel Sender, Alberto Cobos, Luis Alcalá & José B. Diez (2018). Palaeobotanical records associated with the first dinosaur defined in Spain: Palynostratigraphy, taxonomy and palaeoenvironmental remarks. Cretaceous Research (advance online publication). doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cretres.2018.04.023. Taylor, M.P. (2009). "A Re-evaluation of Brachiosaurus altithorax Riggs 1903 (Dinosauria, Sauropod) and its generic separation from Giraffatitan brancai (Janensch 1914)" (PDF). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 29 (3): 787–806. Bibcode:2009JVPal..29..787T. doi:10.1671/039.029.0309. Tidwell, Virginia; Carpenter, Kenneth; Brooks, William (1999). "New sauropod from the Lower Cretaceous of Utah, USA". Oryctos 2: 21–37. Wedel, Mathew J.; Cifelli, R. L.; Sanders, R.. K. (2000). "Osteology, paleobiology, and relationships of the sauropod dinosaur Sauroposeidon" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 45: 343–388. S2CID 59141243. Woodruff, D. Cary; Wilhite, D. Ray; Larson, Peter L.; Eads, Matthew (2021). "A new specimen of the basal macronarian Camarasaurus (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) highlights variability and cranial allometry within the genus". Volumina Jurassica. 19: 109–130. doi:10.7306/VJ.19.5.