What family did the 2018 analysis by Taylor suggest *Xenoposeidon proneneukos* is a basal member of?
Answer
Rebbachisauridae
Phylogenetic placement for *Xenoposeidon* proved challenging because its single diagnostic bone did not align neatly with major established sauropod subgroups. However, a 2018 analysis conducted by Taylor suggested that *Xenoposeidon proneneukos* occupies a basal position within the Rebbachisauridae family. This potential placement is scientifically noteworthy because it could make *Xenoposeidon* approximately 10 million years older than the next previously known Rebbachisaurid, *Histriasaurus*. This grouping is consistent with the known characteristic of Rebbachisaurids possessing somewhat specialized, wide vertebral structures.
Related Questions
What is the meaning of the genus name *Xenoposeidon*?What catalog number identifies the partial dorsal vertebra of *Xenoposeidon*?Which paleontologists formally named *Xenoposeidon proneneukos* in 2007?At what approximate angle does the neural arch of the *Xenoposeidon* vertebra lean relative to the centrum's vertical axis?If *Xenoposeidon* was built heavily like *Brachiosaurus*, what was the corresponding estimated weight?What did Richard Lydekker initially suggest the bone specimen belonged to in 1893?The dorsal vertebra of *Xenoposeidon* was unearthed near Hastings in rocks belonging to which geological formation?What family did the 2018 analysis by Taylor suggest *Xenoposeidon proneneukos* is a basal member of?Which famous contemporary dinosaur, a large ornithopod, shared the Early Cretaceous environment of *Xenoposeidon*?What is the Greek meaning of the species epithet *proneneukos*?