Tapuiasaurus

Ta-pu-e-ah-sore-us.
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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

Tapuiasaurus ‭(‬Tapuia lizard‭)‬.

Phonetic

Ta-pu-e-ah-sore-us.

Named By

Hussam Zaher,‭ ‬Diego Pol,‭ ‬Alberto B.‭ ‬Carvalho,‭ ‬Paulo M.‭ ‬Nascimento,‭ ‬Claudio Riccomini,‭ ‬Peter Larson,‭ ‬Rub�n Juarez-Valieri,‭ ‬Ricardo Pires-Domingues,‭ ‬Nelson Jorge da Silva Jr.‭ & ‬Di�genes de Almeida Campos‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosauria.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

T.‭ ‬macedoi‭

Size

‭R‬oughly estimated at about‭ ‬13‭ ‬meters long.

Known locations

‬Brazil‭ ‬-‭ ‬Quiric� Formation.

Time Period

Aptian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Almost complete skull and some partial postcranial skeletal remains.

In Depth

       One of the smaller South American titanosaurs,‭ ‬Tapuiasaurus is also one of the few titanosaur genera where skull fossils are also known.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬A Complete Skull of an Early Cretaceous Sauropod and the Evolution of Advanced Titanosaurians.‭ ‬-‭ ‬PLoS ONE‭ ‬6‭ (‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬e16663.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Hussam Zaher,‭ ‬Diego Pol,‭ ‬Alberto B.‭ ‬Carvalho,‭ ‬Paulo M.‭ ‬Nascimento,‭ ‬Claudio Riccomini,‭ ‬Peter Larson,‭ ‬Rub�n Juarez-Valieri,‭ ‬Ricardo Pires-Domingues,‭ ‬Nelson Jorge da Silva Jr.‭ & ‬Di�genes de Almeida Campos‭ ‬-‭ ‬2011. – The skull of the titanosaur Tapuiasaurus macedoi (Dinosauria: Sauropoda), a basal titanosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Brazil. – Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. – J. A. Wilson, D. Pol, A. B. Carvalho & H. Zaher – 2016.

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