Uragasaurus kalasinensis: A new species of Mamenchisaurid Sauropod from the Late Jurassic of northeastern Thailand.

The Mamenchisaurids were a group of non-Neosauropod Sauropods (i.e. outside the largest grouping of Sauropods) which formed a significant part of the fauna of East Asia during the Middle and Late Jurassic. They can be distinguished by highly pneumatised and elongated cervical vertebrae, as well as procoelous vertebrae on the front part of the caudal spine (procoelous vertebrae have a convex forward disk and a concave rear disk), which were distinctive during the Jurassic, but evolved convergently in several Neosauropod groups during the Cretaceous. 

Most known Mamenchisaurids come from China, and for a long time they were thought to be restricted to that country. However, in 2005 fragmentary remains attributed to the group were recovered from the Middle to Late Jurassic Khlong Min Formation of Krabi Province in southern Thailand. In 2013, further fragmentary remains were found in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous Phu Kradung Formation of northeastern Thailand, and in 2019 a new species of Mamenchisaurid, Wamweracaudia keranjei, was described on the basis of a partial skeleton from the Late Jurassic Tendaguru Formation of southeastern Tanzania, establishing the presence of the group in Africa.

In a paper published in the journal Scientific Reports on 8 July 2026, Apirut Nilpanapan of the Department of Biology at Mahasarakham University, Sita Manitkoon of the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre and Vertebrate Palaeontology and Evolution Research Unit at Mahasarakham University, Varavudh Suteethorn of the Khon Kaen Geopark Association, and Komsorn Lauprasert also of the Department of Biology and Evolution Research Unit at Mahasarakham University, describe a new species of Mamenchisaurid Sauropod from the Phu Kradung Formation of northeastern Thailand.

The new species is named on the basis of material collected from the Phu Noi Locality, which is in the village of Ban Din Chi in the Kham Muang District of Kalasin Province, in the northeast of Thailand. Here an outcrop of the Phu Kradung Formation has produced one of the most diverse non-marine Vertebrate fossil assemblages in Southeast Asia. The Phu Kradung Formation comprises a series of sandstones, siltstones, and mudstones laid down in a fluvial environment, within a continental basin. 

Locality map and section diagram of Phu Noi Locality. (a) Map of Thailand; (b) location of Phu Noi Locality and the distribution of Phu Kradung Formation, the northeastern region with the outline of Kalasin Province; (c) diagrammatic section of Phu Noi. Nilpanapan et al. (2026).

The precise age of the Phu Kradung Formation is unknown, as it lacks any radiometrically datable horizons. However, regional stratigraphic correlations, Vertebrate assemblages, and detrital zircon data suggest that it is of Late Cretaceous origin, possibly with the uppermost part of the formation extending into the earliest Cretaceous.

The Phu Noi outcrop comprises numerous channel horizons formed within a braided river, rather than horizontal layers extending across the whole site. It has three fossil-bearing horizons. The lowest of these is a grey conglomeratic sandstone laid down in a channel bottom. About 10 m above this, the middle horizon is a brownish-purple and greenish-grey sandy siltstone and mudstone. At the same level as this, but about 400 m to the southwest, the upper horizon is a greyish siltstones within proximal floodplain deposit.

The specimen from which Nilpanpan et al. describe the new species comes from the middle horizon, which is particularly rich in Vertebrate remains, having previously yielded Hybodont Sharks,  Ginglymodian Fish, Lungfish, Eucryptodiran Turtles, Teleosaurid Crocodyliformes, and Neornithischian Dinosaurs, and with Brachyopid Temnospondyl, Rhamphorynchoidea Pterosaur, Tyrannosauroid and Metriacanthosaurid Theropod specimens currently being studied. This faunal assemblage shows a strong affinity to the Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous faunas of the Junggar, Turpan, and Sichuan basins of China.

The new species is named Uragasaurus kalasinensis, where 'Uragasaurus' derives from 'Uraga' (उरग) the Sanskrit word for Snake, in reference to the long, serpentine, neck of Sauropod Dinosaurs, plus '-saurus' (σαύρος), the Greek for Lizard, a common suffix in Dinosaur names, and 'kalasinensis' means 'from Kalasin' in reference to the province where the specimen was discovered. 

Uragasaurus kalasinensis is described from a single isolated anterior dorsal vertebra (PRC 460), from the Phu Noi locality, which is housed in the collection of the Palaeontological Research and Education Centre at Mahasarakham University. A number of other Sauropod elements were found close to this specimen in the same level, which Nilpanpan et al. refer to Uragasaurus kalasinensis. However, because these elements cannot be assigned to the same original Animal with 100% confidence, and they do not have overlapping diagnostic features, they are not included in the formal description of the species. This material includes two anterior dorsal neural arches (KS 34-581 & KS 34-586), a left coracoid (KS 34-587), a left fibula (KS 34-588), a middle cervical vertebra (KS 34-602a), a right cervical rib (KS 34-602b), a middle-to-posterior dorsal vertebra (KS 34-692), and a posterior dorsal vertebra (PN 13-23).

Holotype of Uragasaurus kalasinensis (PRC 460) and associated materials in the quarry map. PRC 460 Anterior dorsal vertebra in anterior view (a), KS 34-581 anterior dorsal neural arch in anterior view (b), KS 34-602a middle cervical vertebra in ventral view (c), KS 34-586 anterior dorsal neural arch in anterior view, attached by KS 34-588 fibula (d), KS 34-587 coracoid in lateral view (e), KS 34-602b right cervical rib in lateral view (f). Quarry map showing the spatial distribution of the holotype and associated materials from the Phu Noi Locality (g). PRC 460, representing the new taxon Uragasaurus kalasinensis, is indicated in red. Associated Sauropod elements include KS 34-586, KS 34-587, KS 34-588, and KS 34-602a–b, highlighted in yellow, green, blue, purple, and pink, respectively. The inset shows a close-up of the excavation grid highlighting the relative positions of the holotype and nearby associated materials. Each grid square represents 0.75 × 0.75 m. Nilpanpan et al. (2026).

The anterior dorsal vertebra assigned to Uragasaurus kalasinensis has a prominent, elongated teardrop-shaped pneumatic fossae on the distal portion of the transverse processes, intraprezygapophyseal laminae meeting ventromedially to form a Y-shaped configuration in anterior view, incorporating a single vertical intraprezygapophyseal lamina, and a shallow, subtriangular pleurocoel lacking an internal septum. 

The holotype anterior dorsal vertebra of Uragasaurus kalasinensis (PRC 460) in anterior (a) and posterior (b) views. Digital rendering of the specimen in anterior (c), posterior (d), right lateral (e), left lateral (f), dorsal (g), and ventral (h) views. Asterisk refers to an autapomorphic character. The blue highlight indicates the pneumatic fossa and pleurocoel. Abbreviations: Cpol, centropostzygapophyseal lamina; cprl, centroprezygapophyseal lamina; di, diapophysis; ns, neural  spine; pa, parapophysis; pcdl, posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina; pl, pleurocoel; pnfo, pneumatic  fossa; po, postzygapophysis; podl, postzygodiapophyseal lamina; ppdl, paradiapophyseal lamina; prdl, prezygodiapophyseal lamina; posl, postspinal lamina; prsl, prespinal lamina; spof, spinopostzygapophyseal fossa; spol, spinopostzygapophyseal lamina; sprf, spinoprezygapophyseal fossa; sprl, spinoprezygapophyseal  lamina; stprl, single interprezygapophyseal lamina; tp, transverse process; tpol, intrapostzygapophyseal lamina;  tprl, intraprezygapophyseal lamina. Nilpanpan et al. (2026).

A computed tomography of specimen PRC 460 showed that its centrum has a camellate internal pneumatic structure composed of numerous small, irregular chambers separated by thin bony septa, although it was not possible to accurately measure the dimensions of these cavities due to mineral infilling. This is a structure unique to advanced Mamenchisaurids, which differs from the procamerate internal structure seen in certain Neosauropods and the camerate condition found in Macronarians and Diplodocoids. 

Computed tomography scan of the anterior dorsal vertebra of Uragasaurus kalasinensis (holotype PRC 460). Three￾dimensional reconstructions of the vertebra in anterior view (a) and right lateral view (c). Corresponding computed tomography sections in anterior view (b) and right lateral view (d). The section plane corresponds to the dashed line separating the grey (anterior) and blue (posterior) regions in the 3D reconstructions. White boxes highlight camellate pneumatic cavities within the centrum. Red arrows indicate polygonal camellae within the camellate internal structure of the centrum. Black-and-white arrows indicate anatomical orientation in each panel. Nilpanpan et al. (2026).

Phylogenetic analysis of the taxonomic affinities of Uragasaurus kalasinensis consistently recovered the species as a basal Mamenchisaurid, although its precise placement within this group was hard to determine, which is unsurprising given the limited nature of the material. However, the same analysis consistently found Rhomaleopakhus turpanensis, a species formerly classified as being a member of the Mamenchisauridae, as being outside the group, which Nilpanpan et al. suggest may indicate the need to re-evaluate the taxonomic status of a number of Late Jurassic Asian Sauropods. 

A previous Mamenchisaurid specimen, KS26-4, was described from the Phu Dan Ma locality in 2013. This specimen comprises a nearly complete posterior cervical vertebra and two fragmentary ribs. Since this material did not contain any elements considered reliably diagnostic within the Mamenchisauridae, it was not formally described as a new species. This lack of diagnostic features, combined with a lack of shared elements with the material assigned to Uragasaurus kalasinensis leads Nilpanpan et al. to refrain from assessing whether it belongs to the same species.

Posterior cervical vertebra of Mamenchisaurus sp. from Phu Dan Ma, Kalasin Province,Thailand,Phu Kradung Formation, Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous. Vertebra (SM KS26−4), right rib (SMKS26−2), and left rib (SMKS26−3) in anterior (A; A₂, close−up view of neural spine showing attachment scar for interspinal elastic ligament), left lateral (B), posterior (C), right lateral (D; D₂, close−up view of articular condyle showing a cancellous internal structure), and dorsal (E) views. Suteethorn et al. (2013).

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Three dead and five missing following landslide at construction site in Kerala.

Three people have died and another five are missing following a landslide at a construction site in Wayanad District, Kerala, at about 1.00 pm local time on Tuesday 7 July 2026. The three dead men have been identified as labourers Anmol Gorai from Jharkhand, Vikas Kumar Singh from Bihar and Chandrabhan Pal from Madhya Pradesh. The incident happened amid heavy rainfall associated with the summer monsoon, which appears to have triggered the collapse of a large pile of earth produced by the construction of a road tunnel intended to connect the town of Meppadi in Wayanad District to the village of Anakkampoyil in the neighbouring Kozhikode District. Landslides are a common problem after severe weather, as excess pore water pressure can overcome cohesion in soil and sediments, allowing them to flow like liquids. Approximately 90% of all landslides are caused by heavy rainfall.

An ongoing rescue operation at the site of a landslide in Kerala State, India. Press Trust of India.

The landslide swept across the construction site, over a nearby road where it swept several vehicles away, then over a temporary labour camp for workers at the site, then a local church and house. All work at the site, other than searching for the missing persons, has stopped pending an investigation into the incident.

Managers at the site, which is being operated by Dilip Buildcon Limited, have claimed that the landslide started on land above the construction site, and was therefore not their fault. However, local authorities have observed that the company appears to have been in breach of at least two directives issued to by the Kerala Public Works Department, one of which was to remove the spoil heap, which was perceived as dangerously large, while the other was not to allow work on the site to be carried out on the site during heavy rainfall, due to the possibility of landslides.

CCTV footage of the landslide sweeping vehicles from a road. India Today.

The tunnel project was approved in 2020, and is intended to relieve pressure on the Thamarassery Ghat Road, which is prone to closures due to landslides during the monsoon season. However, from the outset it has been opposed by environmental groups in Kerala, who were worried that it would affect areas which form a key part of the Western Ghats Biodiversity Hotspot, in particular forests used by wild Elephants, and that there was a danger of tunnelling activities making the hillsides more prone to landslides.

A bus swept into a ravine by the 7 July 2026 Wayanad landslide. Press Trust of India.

These concerns form part of a wider dispute between the Indian Government, which considers large infrastructure projects to be a vital part of its mission to raise millions of Indian citizens out of poverty, and environmentalists, who consider many of these projects to be poorly thought out, and not to take into account the special environmental needs of places such the Western Ghats, nor the current or projected future climate of the region. While such objections are often depicted by India's politicians as being anti-development sentiments which will condemn future generations to poverty, environmentalists worry that large projects which do not take into account the environment and climate risk failure, leaving the areas affected without any meaningful improvement to infrastructure and potentially significant environmental degradation, leaving local communities worse off than they are now.

Monsoons are tropical sea breezes triggered by heating of the land during the warmer part of the year (summer). Both the land and sea are warmed by the Sun, but the land has a lower ability to absorb heat, radiating it back so that the air above landmasses becomes significantly warmer than that over the sea, causing the air above the land to rise and drawing in water from over the sea; since this has also been warmed it carries a high evaporated water content, and brings with it heavy rainfall. In the tropical dry season the situation is reversed, as the air over the land cools more rapidly with the seasons, leading to warmer air over the sea, and thus breezes moving from the shore to the sea (where air is rising more rapidly) and a drying of the climate. 

Diagrammatic representation of wind and rainfall patterns in a tropical monsoon climate. Geosciences/University of Arizona.

Kerala has a complex seasonal cycle, driven by the presence of the Western Ghats mountain range, which largely block the dry northerly winds which dominate the climate of much of India, and its proximity to the equator, which leads to a double monsoon system. Such a double Monsoon Season is common close to the equator, where the Sun is highest overhead around the equinoxes and lowest on the horizons around the solstices, making the solstices the coolest part of the year and the equinoxes the hottest. In Kerala this results in a Southwest Monsoon, which lasts from May to September, and is driven by winds from the southern Arabian Sea dumping water onto the Western Ghats, followed by a Northwest Monsoon, which lasts from October to December, where winds from the Bay of Bengal do the same. Of the two monsoons, the southwest is the wetter, due to the proximity of the sea, with June typically being the wettest month, with an average of 341 mm of rain falling in the month.

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Six 'space balls' found on Queensland beach.

Local authorities in Forest Beach, Queensland, have set up a 50 m exclusion zone around a group of six spherical objects that washed up on beaches on Friday 3, Saturday 4, and Sunday 5 July 2026. The objects have been identified by the Australian Space Agency as most probably being propellant tanks from a recent space launch. These tanks would have contained pressurised fuel before it was released, during the launch process, and have warned people not to approach them due to the possibility of residual amounts of flammable or reactive chemicals being present.

One of six spherical metal objects which washed up on beaches around Forest Beach, Queensland, in the first week of July 2026. Queensland Fire Department.

Spacecraft tend to contain a lot of thick-walled spherical tanks, which is the most stable shape for a tank containing liquids under pressure in a changing gravity field. Unfortunately this is also a good shape for surviving re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere, so as the amount of space junk orbiting the Earth increases, so does the number of metal spheres falling from the sky. As yet there have been no reported cases of death or serious injury caused by space junk, but it does seem to be an increasing hazard on Earth as well as in orbit, with several reports of damage to property now coming in each year.

The basic design of a hydrazine bladder tank, thought to be the type object found on a Queensland beach this week. The tank comprises a tough, protective, outer shell, typically made of titanium, with a flexible bladder inside, which shrinks as the gas inside is expelled, maintaining a constant pressure. Ariane Orbital Propulsion Centre.

Because the debris are thought to have come from a non-Australian rocket, they are covered by the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which enables countries to reclaim any portion of a space vehicle which fell onto another country's territory, in order to investigate any problems with a launch or re-entry procedure. The Australian Space Agency have therefore contacted the country they believe to have carried out the launch from which the tanks came in order to give them the chance to reclaim their parts. They do not, however, expect them to act upon this, as the launch was successful and such tanks are often recovered intact. In the modern world it is unusual for countries to exercise their rights under the Outer Space Treaty, which comes from a time when space travel was a newer and more experimental technology.

A spherical metal object which washed up on a beach near Forest Beach, Queensland, in the first week of July 2026. Queensland Fire Department.

Although not generally considered one of the world's leading environmental problems, the increasing amount of space traffic and man-made objects in orbit, means that the space industry is beginning to have a serious environmental impact. There were 324 space launches in 2025, and have been 154 so far in 2026, with the largest rockets (which are becoming more common, as they can carry multiple satellites at a time) releasing around 76 000 tons of carbon dioxide in a launch. Other environmental impacts are large pieces of debris from launches, such as those found in Queensland this week, but also particulate matter from the breakup of larger pieces of launch stage rockets and satellites re-entering the atmosphere, as well as combustion products of metal and plastics burned during these processes.

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Five-year-old girl swallowed by sinkhole in Cape Town, South Africa.

A five-year-old girl has been rescued after being swallowed by a sinkhole at Wetland in the Khayelitsha Township of Cape Town, South Africa, on Friday 3 July 2006. The girl, who has not been named, was reportedly visiting her aunt in the area, when a section of road collapsed beneath her, leading her to fall into the hole and be covered over with sand. Local residents acted quickly, and were able to dig her out with handtools before serious harm occurred. 

A sinkhole which opened up in the Wetlands area of Khayelitsha on Friday 3 July 2026, swallowing a five-year-old girl. Siyavuya Khaya/Cape Argus.

Sinkholes are generally caused by water eroding soft limestone or unconsolidated deposits from beneath, causing a hole that works its way upwards and eventually opening spectacularly at the surface. Where there are unconsolidated deposits at the surface they can infill from the sides, apparently swallowing objects at the surface, including people, without trace.

However, on this occasion the problem is thought to have been caused by a bulk sewer pipeline which lies beneath the area. The informal settlement at Wetland has been built over this pipeline, which is in a poor state of maintenance, in need of upgrading, and has suffered a number of sinkhole-related problems as sections of the pipeline have collapsed. Officials from the City of Cape Town, which is responsible for the pipeline, report that they expect more collapses on the pipeline, which they struggle to access because of the presence of the settlement.

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