Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs
An interview with Miky Lova Ravelson about his research
on the Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs
Miky Lova Tantely Raveloson (or Lova) is a MS graduate paleontologist from the University of Antananarivo. In 2019, he and his colleagues published an article in the peer-reviewed journal Geosciences about the Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs of Madagascar, which are among dinosaur fossils found in the Mahajanga sedimentary basin. Their research aims at specifying the exact genre and species of this dinosaur fossil. It is a privilege for GSM to get to know Lova, and learn about his research. We hope you will enjoy reading his work too!
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself
My Name is Miky Lova Tantely Raveloson, or Miky Lova or simply Lova. I am married, and we have one child. I received my MSc. Degree in Paleontology in 2007 at the Department of Paleontology at the University of Antananarivo, Madagascar. Since obtaining my MSc. Degree, I became a junior researcher, and I have worked independently in the area of paleontology. In addition to this, I worked as a Teaching Assistant at the University of Antananarivo between 2015 and 2016. I have taught a class about Geotourism in a Private College in Antananarivo, called Oniversity Ravelojaona, which is a Protestant University, since February 2017. As a scientist and a researcher, I am eager to travel. In 2014, I was awarded a UNESCO-Poland Fellowship to study Geotourism. The Fellowship helped me to discover the reality in Paleontology and I gained invaluable knowledge and skills from being the recipient.
Overall, I am a paleontologist and I am interested in two main disciplines of geosciences: Geotourism and Paleontology. Geotourism is a nature-based tourism which is particularly related to the geology and landscape and paleontology is the science of fossils.
Overall, I am a paleontologist and I am interested in two main disciplines of geosciences: Geotourism and Paleontology. Geotourism is a nature-based tourism which is particularly related to the geology and landscape and paleontology is the science of fossils.
What is your research about?
My main research is generally on vertebrate paleontology during the Jurassic Period, including sauropod dinosaurs. I am more interested in paleobiobiogeography, and systematic cladistics. My current research interest is specifically focused on the biogeographical network of one Middle Jurassic Family Dinosaur Sauropod.
Why did you choose this area of research?
In my opinion, it is not possible to separate Geotourism (Geology and landscape Tourism) and Paleontology. Madagascar has a potential for Geotourism because it shelters all the types of Geoheritage that is represented by geological heritage sites. These are places that preserve important information about the Earth, such as its composition, the internal and external processes that have shaped it, and the evolving flora and fauna that occupied it (e.g., Brocx and Semeniuk, 2007). Indeed, I decided to engage in the research involving both Paleontology, mainly about the Middle Jurassic dinosaur sauropod and/or other vertebrate fossil groups during that period, and Geotourism.
Can you explain us about this Jurassic interval, and what is this “Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis” mentioned in your 2019 peer-reviewed paper?
The Jurassic period is also called the Age of reptiles. It is an important period when abundant reptile fossils were discovered in the geological records. The Jurassic period is divided into Early/Lower, Middle and Late Jurassic Epochs, and it started 201 million years ago (Ma) and ended 145 Ma, with a duration of 156 Ma. The beginning of the Jurassic (~201 Ma) is marked by the separation of the supercontinent Pangaea, giving the northern supercontinent Laurasia and the southern supercontinent Gondwana, where Madagascar belonged. It is also marked by the particular and iconic aftermath event, which is the Major Triassic-Jurassic extinction, followed by two other extinction events during the Late Piensbachian/Early Toarcian event in the Early Jurassic and the Late Tithonian event at the end. Please note that neither of the events listed above rank among the ‘Big Five’ mass extinctions. For your information, these five big extinctions include: 1. The Ordovician-Silurian Extinction (~440 Ma), 2. The Late Devonian Extinction (~ 365 Ma), 3. The Permo-Triassic Extinction (~250 Ma), 4. The Triassic-Jurassic Extinction (~210 Ma), and 5. The K-T extinction (~65 Ma). Besides reptiles, the Jurassic period is also dominated by Gymnosperms, particularly conifer trees, which are also the dominant flora during the previous period, called Triassic. |
Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis, described by Collignon (1954, is a four-leg herbivore dinosaur sauropod that reproduces from laying eggs. It belongs to the Eusauropod group (True sauropod), if one refers to the evolution of the Sauropodomorpha dinosaurs. Current research suggests that it is a medium-sized dinosaur, not very large and tall and not very small because of the adaptability to the low-browser feeding system. It roamed the Coastal plain of the Sakaraha Formation (Isalo IIIb- mixed facies) during the Middle Jurassic Epoch. |
The scientific paper published in 2019 reports on new information on this dinosaur found in the Mahajanga basin, located in northwestern Madagascar, using broken left femur, broken neural spine, and caudal vertebra. These bones all belong to the hind limb and axial skeleton of the sauropod. They were recovered from mixed facies representing sediments deposited in a shallow water lagoon during a transgressive period in the Isalo IIIb subunit in the Mahajanga basin.
Based on our investigations on these bone fragments, this Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis shares the following similarities with the British genus Cetiosurus :
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Where do you do your research, why did you choose that location and what did you find?
My research area is in the northwestern part of Madagascar where an important and large area of Middle Jurassic deposits crops out. The stratigraphic age of the area is Bathonian (see the figure above). There are many fossil vertebrates that are preserved in the same sedimentary formation but I am more interested in the dinosaur sauropod fauna.
A very few scientific papers have been written about sauropod dinosaur fauna in that area. This has given me ideas to explore and unearth the secret of the sauropod fauna and the other fauna assemblages, which have not yet been fully investigated in terms of paleobiogeography and systematics.
The winter wet climate of the Middle Jurassic Epoch in the southern part of the Gondwana was thought to have a profound impact on the epoch’s flora and fauna variety and their biogeography. This is the main motivation why my colleagues and I wanted to investigate the paleontological aspect of that epoch. It is nonetheless important to note that, the research is still preliminary. We could only find very few fossil materials that belong to the sauropod dinosaur specimens. In addition, the occurrence of the Middle Jurassic dinosaur taxa is very sparse because of the important event marking the Early Jurassic, the break-up of the great supercontinent into Laurasia and Gondwana. Even if I did not expect to find a femur, a neural spine, and some elements of vertebra, the most important thing about our 2019 paper was to confirm the taxonomic position at the family level the Middle Jurassic species of sauropod dinosaur in Madagascar. Cladistictically, the fossil was suspected to belong to the Middle Jurassic family, which was later confirmed to belong to the taxon Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis after careful laboratory investigation combined with the anatomical survey of the Global Middle Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs.
How does it feel to be a “Malagasy Researcher”?
Being a Malagasy researcher in the area of paleontology is really a pride. When you want to become a real researcher, you need to be active in your area of research and spend more time reading up-to-date scientific papers, attending international conference(s) at least once in a couple of years, and publishing scientific papers on a regular basis to maintain your scholar presence. However, most of us face a variety of challenges, such as the lack of adequate infrastructures to become leaders in our field of expertise, the lack of governmental funding to support our research, and the lack of professional training, which could make us a “better scientist”.
How do you think the Malagasy government and the Malagasy population perceive scientific results from Malagasy Researchers?
When you are labeled “Researcher”, the first thing that comes to the mind for most people is the status of “being rich” (in the monetary sense), which is not true. In my view, the Malagasy Government has not significantly valued scientific results stemming from the basic sciences. Only few researches from the applied sciences have been considered for the special development of the social business or social benefits in the country. If Malagasy Researchers are needed to be valued more and to be developed, education should be a priority. Results obtained from any research, even in the different areas of sciences, need to be worthy and tailored to have impactful influence on the society. Furthermore, if research is widely broadcasted, either via monthly scientific magazines or monthly newspapers, this could tremendously benefit various scholarly students at different levels of education.
What is your message to readers
I would tell you only one thing: “Success is awarded to those who dream of endless possibilities and, who through perseverance and determination, continue climbing mountains and following rainbows”.
Here, I would also like to acknowledge the Sylvester Bradley Award from the Palaeontological Association (Palass), for selecting my research and for funding any logistic expenses related to my investigation of the Jurassic sauropod in the Mahajanga basin. The award also helped defray the cost related to the per diem of my two assistant researchers.
Where do you do your research, why did you choose that location and what did you find?
My research area is in the northwestern part of Madagascar where an important and large area of Middle Jurassic deposits crops out. The stratigraphic age of the area is Bathonian (see the figure above). There are many fossil vertebrates that are preserved in the same sedimentary formation but I am more interested in the dinosaur sauropod fauna.
A very few scientific papers have been written about sauropod dinosaur fauna in that area. This has given me ideas to explore and unearth the secret of the sauropod fauna and the other fauna assemblages, which have not yet been fully investigated in terms of paleobiogeography and systematics.
The winter wet climate of the Middle Jurassic Epoch in the southern part of the Gondwana was thought to have a profound impact on the epoch’s flora and fauna variety and their biogeography. This is the main motivation why my colleagues and I wanted to investigate the paleontological aspect of that epoch. It is nonetheless important to note that, the research is still preliminary. We could only find very few fossil materials that belong to the sauropod dinosaur specimens. In addition, the occurrence of the Middle Jurassic dinosaur taxa is very sparse because of the important event marking the Early Jurassic, the break-up of the great supercontinent into Laurasia and Gondwana. Even if I did not expect to find a femur, a neural spine, and some elements of vertebra, the most important thing about our 2019 paper was to confirm the taxonomic position at the family level the Middle Jurassic species of sauropod dinosaur in Madagascar. Cladistictically, the fossil was suspected to belong to the Middle Jurassic family, which was later confirmed to belong to the taxon Lapparentosaurus madagascariensis after careful laboratory investigation combined with the anatomical survey of the Global Middle Jurassic sauropod dinosaurs.
How does it feel to be a “Malagasy Researcher”?
Being a Malagasy researcher in the area of paleontology is really a pride. When you want to become a real researcher, you need to be active in your area of research and spend more time reading up-to-date scientific papers, attending international conference(s) at least once in a couple of years, and publishing scientific papers on a regular basis to maintain your scholar presence. However, most of us face a variety of challenges, such as the lack of adequate infrastructures to become leaders in our field of expertise, the lack of governmental funding to support our research, and the lack of professional training, which could make us a “better scientist”.
How do you think the Malagasy government and the Malagasy population perceive scientific results from Malagasy Researchers?
When you are labeled “Researcher”, the first thing that comes to the mind for most people is the status of “being rich” (in the monetary sense), which is not true. In my view, the Malagasy Government has not significantly valued scientific results stemming from the basic sciences. Only few researches from the applied sciences have been considered for the special development of the social business or social benefits in the country. If Malagasy Researchers are needed to be valued more and to be developed, education should be a priority. Results obtained from any research, even in the different areas of sciences, need to be worthy and tailored to have impactful influence on the society. Furthermore, if research is widely broadcasted, either via monthly scientific magazines or monthly newspapers, this could tremendously benefit various scholarly students at different levels of education.
What is your message to readers
I would tell you only one thing: “Success is awarded to those who dream of endless possibilities and, who through perseverance and determination, continue climbing mountains and following rainbows”.
Here, I would also like to acknowledge the Sylvester Bradley Award from the Palaeontological Association (Palass), for selecting my research and for funding any logistic expenses related to my investigation of the Jurassic sauropod in the Mahajanga basin. The award also helped defray the cost related to the per diem of my two assistant researchers.