| Sauropodiformes | |
|---|---|
| Skeleton ofJingshanosaurus xinwaensis at theMiami Science Museum | |
| Lessemsaurus sauropoides | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Massopoda |
| Clade: | †Sauropodiformes Sereno,2007 |
| Subgroups | |
| |
Sauropodiformes (meaning "in the form of asauropod") is anextinctclade ofsauropodomorphdinosaurs. It includes the true sauropods as well as their closest non-sauropod relatives. This clade was named in 2007 by the researcherPaul Sereno.[1]
Sauropodiformes was given aphylogenetic definition by Sereno when he named it. He gave it a node-based definition as the least inclusive clade containing bothSaltasaurus andMussaurus.[1] However, Blair McPhee and colleagues redefined Sauropodiformes in 2014 to have a stem based definition. The new definition they provided was that it would be the least inclusive clade containingSaltasaurus, but notMassospondylus. The reason the authors provided for this redefinition was the taxonomic instability ofMussaurus and the importance of the evolutionary transition that occurred within this group including the emergence of massive sizes and the evolution of quadrupedality.[2]
Below is a cladogram of Sauropodiformes after Alania and colleagues, published in 2025.[3]
| Massopoda |
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