Cranial neuranatomy, tooth recognition and tooth replacement rates in turiasaur sauropod dinosaurs from Lower Cretaceous material from Angea

Angeac-Charente is an Early Cretaceous dinosaur bonebed located in southwestern France. It has yielded tens of thousands of fossils, representing a snapshot of an ancient wetland ecosystem composed of lizards, birds, amphibians, mammals, fishes, flying reptiles, turtles, crocodiles and dinosaurs. One of the most conspicuous species of dinosaur found at Angeac-Charente is a giant sauropod belonging to Turiasauria. This proposal aims to investigate the internal anatomy of two cranial elements using X-ray synchrotron micro computed tomography: the braincase in order to reconstruct its endocast, the neuroanatomy and the internal ear, and the maxilla to access the morphology and microanatomy of unerupted teeth. All these biological characters have important functional implications, particularly in terms of cognitive abilities and feeding strategy. This data will shed light on the phylogeny and ecology of this dinosaur and help us to understand its role in a wetland ecosystem.