Neuquensaurus

Name: Neuquensaurus ‭(‬Neuquén lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: New-kwen-sore-us.
Named By: J.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Powell‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.
Synonyms: Loricosaurus‭?‬,‭ ‬Loricosaurus scutatus,‭ ‬Microcoelus‭?‬,‭ ‬Saltasaurus australis,‭ ‬Saltasaurus robustus,‭ ‬Titanosaurus nanus,‭ ‬Titanosaurus australis,‭ ‬Titanosaurus robustus.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Sauropodomorpha,‭ ‬Titanosauria,‭ ‬Saltasauridae,‭ ‬Saltasaurinae.
Species: N.‭ ‬australis‭ (‬type‭)‬,‭ ‬N.‭ ‬robustus‭?
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: About‭ ‬8‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Argentina,‭ ‬Rio Negro Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Anacleto Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Almost the entire post cranial skeleton is known.

       Neuquensaurus is easily one of the smallest of the known titanosaurs,‭ ‬with only genera such as Magyarosaurus being known to clearly be smaller.‭ ‬Neuquensaurus has had a fairly complicated taxonomic history with fossils of Neuquensaurus previously being described as belonging to both Titanosaurus and Saltasaurus before being renamed as Neuquensaurus.‭ ‬In addition to this the genera Microcoelus and Loricosaurus may actually be synonymous with Neuquensaurus.‭ ‬The second species of Neuquensaurus,‭ ‬N.‭ ‬robustus is at the time of writing also considered to be dubious on the basis of a distinct lack of diagnostic features upon the fossils of this species.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Osteologia de Saltasaurus loricatus‭ (‬Sauropoda‭ ‬-‭ ‬Titanosauridae‭) ‬del Cretácico Superior del noroeste Argentino‭ [‬Osteology of Saltasaurus loricatus‭ (‬Sauropoda‭ ‬-‭ ‬Titanosauridae‭) ‬from the Upper Cretaceous of northwest Argentina‭]‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬J.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Powell‭ ‬-‭ ‬In J.‭ ‬L.‭ ‬Sanz‭ & ‬A.‭ ‬D.‭ ‬Buscalioni‭ (‬eds.‭)‬,‭ ‬Los Dinosaurios y Su Entorno Biotico:‭ ‬Actas del Segundo Curso de Paleontologia in Cuenca.‭ ‬Institutio‘Juan de Valdes‭’‬,‭ ‬Cuenca,‭ ‬Argentina‭ ‬165-230.‭ ‬-‭ ‬1992.
- The appendicular skeleton of Neuquensaurus, a Late Cretaceous saltasaurine sauropod from Patagonia, Argentina. - Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 55 (3): 399–426. - Alejandro Otero - 2010.

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