Researchers from University of Bonn publish new studies and findings inthe area of bone research.

AMNH, New York City sauropod, originally uploaded by wimpiesnek.

Fresh data on bone research are presented in the report 'Small body size and extreme cortical bone remodeling indicate phyletic dwarfism in Magyarosaurus dacus (Sauropoda: Titanosauria).' According to a study from Bonn, Germany, "Sauropods were the largest terrestrial tetrapods (>10(5) kg) in Earth's history and grew at rates that rival those of extant mammals. Magyarosaurus dacus, a titanosaurian sauropod from the Upper Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Romania, is known exclusively from small individuals (

"Here we present strong histological evidence that M. dacus was indeed a dwarf (phyletic nanoid). Bone histological analysis of an ontogenetic series of Magyarosaurus limb bones indicates that even the smallest Magyarosaurus specimens exhibit a bone microstructure identical to fully mature or old individuals of other sauropod taxa. Comparison of histologies with large-bodied sauropods suggests that Magyarosaurus had an extremely reduced growth rate, but had retained high basal metabolic rates typical for sauropods," wrote K. Stein and colleagues, University of Bonn (see also Bone Research).

The researchers concluded: "The uniquely decreased growth rate and diminutive body size in Magyarosaurus were adaptations to life on a Cretaceous island and show that sauropod dinosaurs were not exempt from general ecological principles limiting body size."

Stein and colleagues published the results of their research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (Small body size and extreme cortical bone remodeling indicate phyletic dwarfism in Magyarosaurus dacus (Sauropoda: Titanosauria). Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2010;107(20):9258-63).

For additional information, contact K. Stein, University of Bonn, Steinmann Institute Division of Paleontology, 53115 Bonn, Germany.

Keywords: City:Bonn, Country:Germany, Bone, Bone Research, Dwarfism.

Source Citation
"Researchers from University of Bonn publish new studies and findings in the area of bone research." Science Letter 10 Aug. 2010: 2428. General OneFile. Web. 3 Nov. 2010.
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