A remarkable new genus and species of small-sized titanosaurian sauropod has been unearthed in Patagonia, Argentina.
Titanomachya gimenezi roamed our planet during the latest Cretaceous period, around 66 million years ago.
The ancient species was a member of a group of derived titanosaurian sauropods called Lithostrotia and shared some features with the family Saltasauridae.
“Titanosaurian sauropods were diverse in the latest Cretaceous ecosystems of Patagonia,” said Dr. Agustín Pérez-Moreno, a postdoctoral researcher at CONICET, and his colleagues.
“The current fossil record is heavily biased towards the better sampled Neuquén Group in northern Patagonia, where two major titanosaur lineages are recorded, Colossosauria and Saltasauroidea.”
“The fossil record in southern Patagonia (Austral Basin) includes colossosaurian titanosaurs, such as Puertasaurus reuili and possibly Nullotitan glaciaris, as well as the large saltasauroid Dreadnoughtus schrani.”
Titanomachya gimenezi was a small-sized titanosaur, around 6-10 tons in body mass.
“Estimates of less than 10 tons are rare among titanosaurs,” the paleontologists said.
“Within the family Saltasauroidea there are a few examples.”
“The lightest titanosaurs are Magyarosaurus dacus and Lirainosaurus astibiae with a mass of less than a ton and two tons, respectively.”
“Among Saltasauridae, the heaviest is Ophistocoelicaudia with a mass of 25 tons, while within the Saltasaurinae the body mass varies between five and six tons.”
The fossilized remains of Titanomachya gimenezi were recovered from the outcrops of the La Colonia Formation in Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina.
“The holotype of Titanomachya gimenezi comes from the middle section of the La Colonia Formation, in levels like those of other dinosaurs (abelisaurids, hadrosaurs, ankylosaurs), turtles, and mammals reported from this formation,” the researchers said.
Despite being represented only by fossilized limb…
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