The lost titan of Cauvery

Abstract

In 1987, authors P. Yadagiri and K. Ayyasami described a giant dinosaur, Bruhathkayosaurus matleyi, from the Late Cretaceous beds of the Cauvery Basin, India. Unfortunately, the fossil remains of this giant had disintegrated into dust before they reached the repository, making B. matleyi a dubious species. Gigantism is one of the many characteristic features of dinosaurs that grab public attention, and there is much fossil evidence that suggests gigantism was not limited to any specific group of dinosaurs. Nevertheless, this characteristic feature was very advanced and extensive among sauropod dinosaurs, which belonged to a group of long necked herbivorous dinosaurs. Sauropods evolved from basal saurischian dinosaurs about 200 Ma and survived until the K/Pg (Cretaceous–Palaeogene) mass extinction event, about 66 Ma. By the Late Jurassic period, many colossal size sauropods had evolved, such as Supersaurus, Diplodocus, Barosaurus, etc. but together with other Diplodocidae, they went extinct by the end of the Late Jurassic. During the Cretaceous, a new clade of sauropod dinosaurs evolved, the Titanosauria. The Titanosauria diversified into various genera, and in terms of size, they ranged from a 6-m-long Magyarosaurus, to the 35-m-long Argentinosaurus. Most of these giant titanosaurs, including Argentinosaurus, alongside Patagotitan, Dreadnoughtus, Puertasaurus, and Futalognkosaurus, are known from South America, making this continent truly a ‘land of giants’ during the Cretaceous. However, the latest discoveries of this group indicate that supersized titanosaurs were not just restricted to South America, with Paralititan from Africa and Australotitan from Australia. Loss of the fossil remains of B. matleyi has raised not only questions upon the validity of the species, but also questions the notion that any supersized dinosaur lived in India. Here we critically review pieces of evidence in support of supersize dinosaur remains from Southern India.