Bonatitan

Bon-ah-ty-tan.
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Benjamin Gutierrez

Vertebrate Paleontologist

Benjamin Gutierrez is a leading expert on dinosaurs, particularly the mighty theropods. His fieldwork in South America has uncovered new species and provided insights into dinosaur social structures.

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Name

Bonatitan ‭(‬Bonaparte’s titan‭ ‬-‭ ‬named after Jos� Fernando Bonaparte‭)‬.

Phonetic

Bon-ah-ty-tan.

Named By

‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Martinelli‭ & ‬A.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Forasiepi‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosaira,‭ ‬Saltasauridae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

B.‭ ‬reigi‭

Size

Uncertain due to lack of remains,‭ ‬but is noted as being of a small size.

Known locations

Argentina,‭ ‬Rio Negro Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Allen Formation.

Time Period

Campanian-Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Brain case and partial post cranial remains.‭ ‬Fossil remains of two individuals are known.

In Depth

       Named after the famous palaeontologist Jos� Fernando Bonaparte for his contributions to the advancement of palaeontology,‭ ‬Bonatitan seems to have actually been quite a small titanosaur.‭ ‬Hailing from the Allen Formation,‭ ‬Bonatitan likely shared its habitat with other dinosaurs such as other titanosaurs like Saltasaurus,‭ ‬Laplatasaurus,‭ ‬Aeolosaurus and Rocasaurus and the hadrosaurs Lapampasaurus and Willinakaqe.‭ ‬Predatory threats may have come from theropod dinosaurs such as Austroraptor.‭ ‬Large numbers of fish and turtle fossils are also known indicating the presence of a lot of water in the ecosystem of Bonatitian while the pterosaur Aerotitan is also known to have been present.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Late Cretaceous vertebrates from Bajo de Santa Rosa‭ (‬Allen Formation‭)‬,‭ ‬Rio Negro province,‭ ‬Argentina,‭ ‬with the description of a new sauropod dinosaur‭ (‬Titanosauridae‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales‭ ‬6‭(‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬257-305.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Martinelli‭ & ‬A.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Forasiepi‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004. – Redescription of Bonatitan reigi (Sauropoda: Titanosauria), from the Campanian–Maastrichtian of the R�o Negro Province (Argentina). – Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology 27(5): 525-548. – L. Salgado, P.A. Gallina & A. Paulina Carabajal – 2014.

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