Gondwanatitan
Name:
Gondwanatitan
(Gondwana titan).
Phonetic: Gond-wah-nah-tie-tan.
Named By: Kellner & de Azevedo - 1999.
Synonyms: Aeolosaurus faustoi.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria,
Saurischia, Sauropoda, Titanosauria, Aeolosauridae.
Species: G. faustoi (type).
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Estimated up to about 7 to 8 meters long.
Known locations: Brazil.
Time period: Late Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial post cranial skeleton.
Although
the name Gondwanatitan implies that this dinosaur
was ‘titanic’,
it was actually quite modest in size, especially when you compare it
to other South American giants like Argentinosaurus.
Instead the name
is a play on the classification of Gondwanatitan
which is considered to
be one of the titanosaurs,
a special group of sauropod dinosaurs.
The Gondwana part is in reference to its geographical distribution of
a specific part of Gondwana, the Cretaceous collection of Southern
continents that were separate from the Northern continents that were
known as Laurasia.
The
partial post cranial remains of Gondwanatitan
reveal a medium sized
titanosaur that was actually quite advanced in form. One key feature
is the tibia (one of the lower leg bones) that is straight whereas
in many other titanosaurs it is curved. The caudal vertebrae from the
middle portion of the tail have elongated vertebrae that also have
neural spines that are angled to point anteriorly (towards the front
of the animal). This has seen Gondwanatitan
placed within the
Aeolosauridae family of titanosaurs, which is why it often mentioned
as being related to the type genus of this group, Aeolosaurus.
Additionally, like with Aeolosaurus, these
vertebrae have been
interpreted as giving Gondwanatitan the ability to
rear up on its hind
legs so that it could reach even further into the tree canopy to feed.
Further reading
- A new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauria) from the Late Cretaceous of
Brazil" in: Y. Tomida, Y,T. H. Rich & P Vickers-Rich (eds.) -
Proceedings of the Second Gondwanan Dinosaur Symposium, National
Science Museum Monographs 15: 111-142 - A. W. A. Kellner & S.
A. K. de Azevedo - 1999.
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