Diplodocoid tooth MSNMV6217, Jurassic Madagascar

3D Model

This specimen is from a site near Port–Bergé (Madagascar), from the Isalo IIIb subunit (Sakaraha Formation), dated back to the Bathonian (Middle Jurassic).

This tooth is characterized by an unusually elongate, fusiform aspect, and by a subcircular transverse section, with a constant shape from the crown base to the apex. The root is compressed in mesiodistal direction and possesses a sub-elliptical transverse section, eccentric and asymmetrical, somewhat drop-shaped. MSNM V6217 could represent a new taxon, maybe a basal member of Diplodocoidea, which would also represent the oldest record of the clade in Africa.

The specimen is housed at the Museo di Storia Naturale di Milano.

Reference: Bindellini G., Dal Sasso C. (2019). Sauropod teeth from the Middle Jurassic of Madagascar, and the oldest record of Titanosauriformes. Papers in Palaeontology. doi:10.1002/spp2.1282.