Editing Rapetosaurus (section)

==Paleoecology==
[[File:MajungasaurusROM.JPG|thumb|Mounted ''[[Majungasaurus]]'' and ''Rapetosaurus'' ]] 
During the Maastrichtian, like it is now, Madagascar was an island, having [[plate tectonics|separated]] from the [[Indian subcontinent]] less than 20 million years earlier. It was drifting northwards but still 10–15[[Degree (angle)|°]] more southerly in [[latitude]] than it is today. The prevailing [[climate]] of the time was semi-arid, with pronounced [[season]]ality in temperature and rainfall. Many prehistoric animals inhabited a coastal [[flood plain]] cut by many sandy [[river]] [[Channel (geography)|channels]].<ref name=rogersetal2007>{{cite book |last=Rogers |first=Raymond R. |author2=Krause, David W.|author3-link=Kristina Curry Rogers |author3=Curry Rogers, Kristina|author4=Rasoamiaramanana, Armand H.|author5=Rahantarisoa, Lydia |year=2007 |chapter=Paleoenvironment and Paleoecology of ''Majungasaurus crenatissimus'' (Theropoda: Abelisauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar |editor=Sampson, Scott D. |editor2=Krause, David W. |title=''Majungasaurus crenatissimus'' (Theropoda: Abelisauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=27 |series=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir '''8''' |pages=21–31 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[21:PAPOMC]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=130262308 }}</ref> Strong geological evidence suggests the occurrence of periodic [[debris flow]]s through these channels at the beginning of the wet season, burying the carcasses of organisms killed during the preceding dry season and providing for their exceptional preservation as fossils.<ref name=rogers2005>{{cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Raymond R. |year=2005 |title=Fine-grained debris flows and extraordinary vertebrate burials in the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar |journal=Geology |volume=33 |issue=4 |pages=297–300 |doi=10.1130/G21036.1|bibcode=2005Geo....33..297R }}</ref> Sea levels in the area were rising throughout the Maastrichtian, and would continue to do so into the [[Paleocene Epoch]], so ''Rapetosaurus'' may have roamed coastal environments like [[tidal flats]] as well. The neighboring [[Berivotra Formation]] represents the contemporaneous [[Marine (ocean)|marine]] environment.<ref name=rogersetal2007 />

Besides ''Rapetosaurus'', fossil taxa recovered from the Maevarano include [[fish]], [[frog]]s, lizards, snakes,<ref name=rogersetal2007 /> seven distinct species of [[crocodylomorph]]s,<ref name=krauseetal2006>{{cite journal |last=Krause |first=David W. |author2=O'Connor, Patrick M.|author3-link=Kristina Curry Rogers |author3=Curry Rogers, Kristina|author4=Sampson, Scott D.|author5=Buckley, Gregory A.|author6=Rogers, Raymond R. |year=2006 |title=Late Cretaceous terrestrial vertebrates from Madagascar: implications for Latin American biogeography |journal=Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden |volume=93 |issue=2 |pages=178–208 |url=http://www.mbgpress.info/index.php?task=id&id=11002 |doi=10.3417/0026-6493(2006)93[178:LCTVFM]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=9166607 }}</ref> [[Mesozoic mammals of Madagascar#Cretaceous|five or six species of mammals]],<ref name=krauseetal2006 /> ''[[Vorona]]''<ref name=forsteretal1996>{{cite journal |last=Forster |first=Catherine A. |author2=Chiappe, Luis M. |author3=Krause, David W. |author4= Sampson, Scott D.  |title=The first Cretaceous bird from Madagascar |journal=Nature |volume=382 |issue=6591 |pages=532–534 |doi=10.1038/382532a0 |year=1996|bibcode=1996Natur.382..532F |s2cid=4364184 }}</ref> and several other birds,<ref name=rogersetal2007 /> the possibly flighted [[dromaeosaurid]] ''[[Rahonavis]]'',<ref name=forsteretal1998>{{cite journal |last=Forster |first=Catherine |author2=Sampson, Scott D. |author3=Chiappe, Luis M. |author4= Krause, David W.  |year=1998 |title=The theropod ancestry of birds: new evidence from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar |journal=Science |volume=279 |issue=5358 |pages=1915–1919 |doi=10.1126/science.279.5358.1915 |pmid=9506938|bibcode=1998Sci...279.1915F }}</ref><ref name=makovickyetal2005>{{cite journal |last=Makovicky |first=Peter J. |author2=Apesteguía, Sebastian |author3= Agnolín, Federico L.  |year=2005 |title=The earliest dromaeosaurid theropod from South America |journal=Nature |volume=437 |issue=7061 |pages=1007–1011 |doi=10.1038/nature03996 |pmid=16222297 |bibcode=2005Natur.437.1007M|s2cid=27078534 }}</ref> the [[Noasauridae|noasaurid]] ''[[Masiakasaurus]]'',<ref name=sampsonetal2001>{{cite journal |last=Sampson |first=Scott D. |author2=Carrano, Matthew T. |author3= Forster, Catherine A.  |year=2001 |title=A bizarre predatory dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar |journal=Nature |volume=409 |issue=6819 |pages=504–506 |doi=10.1038/35054046 |pmid=11206544|bibcode=2001Natur.409..504S |s2cid=205013285 }}</ref> and the [[Abelisauridae|abelisaurid]] ''[[Majungasaurus]]''.<ref name=krauseetal2007>{{cite book |last=Krause |first=David W. |author2=Sampson, Scott D. |author3=Carrano, Matthew T. |author4= O'Connor, Patrick M.  |year=2007 |chapter=Overview of the history of discovery, taxonomy, phylogeny, and biogeography of ''Majungasaurus crenatissimus'' (Theropoda: Abelisauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar |editor=Sampson, Scott D. |editor2=Krause, David W. |title=''Majungasaurus crenatissimus'' (Theropoda: Abelisauridae) from the Late Cretaceous of Madagascar |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=27 |series=Society of Vertebrate Paleontology Memoir '''8''' |pages=1–20 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[1:OOTHOD]2.0.CO;2|s2cid=13274054 }}</ref> A variety of extinct mammals have also been discovered, such as [[gondwanatheres]] and non-[[placental]] [[eutherians]], the former reaching large sizes such as ''[[Vintana]]''.

[[File:Majungasaurus, Masiakasaurus, Rapetosaurus.jpg|thumb|left|Restoration of two ''[[Majungasaurus]]'' chasing ''Rapetosaurus'']] 
The skull of ''[[Majungasaurus]]'', a large [[abelisauridae|abelisaurid]] [[theropod]], was discovered in 1996. It is similar to species found in [[India]] and [[Argentina]], indicating that land bridges between the fragments of the former supercontinent of Gondwana still existed in the late Cretaceous, far later than was previously believed. The most likely occurrence was a land bridge allowing animals to cross from [[South America]] to [[Antarctica]], and then up to India and Madagascar. ''Majungasaurus'' was the largest predator in its environment, while the only known contemporaneous large herbivores were sauropods like ''Rapetosaurus''. Scientists have suggested that ''Majungasaurus'' specialized in hunting sauropods. ''Majungasaurus'' tooth marks on ''Rapetosaurus'' bones indicate that it at least fed on these sauropods, whether or not it actually killed them.<ref name=rogersetal2003>{{cite journal |last=Rogers |first=Raymond R. |author2=Krause, David W.|author3-link=Kristina Curry Rogers |author3=Curry Rogers, Kristina |year=2007 |title=Cannibalism in the Madagascan dinosaur ''Majungatholus atopus'' |journal=Nature |volume=422 |issue=6931 |pages=515–518 |doi=10.1038/nature01532 |pmid=12673249|bibcode=2003Natur.422..515R |s2cid=4389583 }}</ref>

Typically, titanosaurs were unusual among sauropods in that they coexisted with large [[ornithischia]]n dinosaurs such as [[ceratopsid]]s, [[hadrosaur]]s, and [[ankylosaur]]s. However, ''Rapetosaurus'' was atypical among titanosaurs in that it shared the Mahajanga basin with only one other large herbivore, another titanosaur. Smaller herbivores were rare, with only one, ''[[Simosuchus]]'', being discovered during over 100 years of collection in that area. Due to the absence of ornithischian dinosaurs, it is suggested that prehistoric Madagascar saw a different herbivore community dynamic than was seen elsewhere in the Cretaceous.<ref name=CurryRogers2001/>
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