POSTCRANIAL REMAINS OF A SAUROPODOMORPH DINOSAUR FROM THE LOWER JURASSIC OF ANTARCTICA

The first dinosaur fossils found on the Antarctic mainland were discovered during the 1990-1991 austral summer on Mt. Kirkpatrick in southern region of the Trans-Antarctic Mountains. These remains of Cyrolophosaurus ellioti were found in the early Jurassic Hanson Formation. At this same site, a femur, tarsals and metatarsals of a long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur, subsequently named Glacialisaurus hammeri, were also discovered. Glacialisaurus is a basal member of the Sauropodomorpha, a group that includes such famous titans as Apatosaurus and Diplodocus. In the 2010-11 season, new material from basal sauropodomorphs was found: a scapula and part of an ischium were collected from the original quarry that produced Cryolophosaurus and Glacialisaurus. Additional material representing two different new basal sauropodomorphs was collected from other sites on Mt. Kirkpatrick. By comparing the traits of the scapula and ischium to those of other basal sauropodomorphs, as well as to those of more derived sauropodomorphs, this project set out to identify the genus that the material from the original quarry belonged to. Based on the morphology, the size and the location of the specimens, it was deduced that the material indeed belonged to a basal saurpodomorph, most likely Glacialisaurus.