Paralititan

Taxobox
name = "Paralititan"
fossil_range = Late Cretaceous

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image_width=250px
image_caption=life restoration of "Paralititan stromeri"
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Sauropsida
superordo = Dinosauria
ordo = Saurischia
subordo = Sauropodomorpha
infraordo = Sauropoda
unranked_familia = Titanosauria
genus = "Paralititan"
species = "P. stromeri"
binomial = "Paralititan stromeri"
binomial_authority = Smith "et al", 2001

"Paralititan" was a giant titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur genus discovered in coastal deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Bahariya Formation of Egypt. The fossil represents the first tetrapod reported from the Bahariya Formation since 1935. Its 1.69 meter (5.54 ft) long humerus is longer than that of any known Cretaceous sauropod. The autochthonous, scavenged skeleton was preserved in tidal flat deposits containing fossil mangrove vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem it inhabited was situated along the southern shore of the Tethys Sea. "Paralititan" is the first dinosaur demonstrated to have inhabited a mangrove biome.cite journal |last=Smith |first=J.B. |coauthors=Lamanna, M.C.; Lacovara, K.J.; Dodson, P.; Smith, J.R.; Poole, J.C.; Giegengack, R.; and Attia, Y. |year=2001 |title=A Giant sauropod dinosaur from an Upper Cretaceous mangrove deposit in Egypt |journal=Science |volume=292 |issue=5522 |pages=1704–1706 |doi=10.1126/science.1060561 |pmid=11387472]

Little of "Paralititan" is known, so its exact size is difficult to estimate. However the limited material suggests that it is one of the most massive dinosaurs ever discovered, with an estimated weight of 59 tonnes (65 short tons).Burness, G.P. and Flannery, T. (2001). "Dinosaurs, dragons, and dwarfs: The evolution of maximal body size." "Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences", 98(25): 14518-14523.] Using "Saltasaurus" as a guide, Carpenter estimated its length at around 26 meters (85 ft).Carpenter, K. (2006). "Biggest of the big: a critical re-evaluation of the mega-sauropod "Amphicoelias fragillimus"." In Foster, J.R. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 2006, "Paleontology and Geology of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation." New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 36: 131-138. [https://scientists.dmns.org/sites/kencarpenter/PDFs%20of%20publications/Amphicoelias.pdf] ] Like other titanosaurs, it had a wide-gauge stance and may have possessed osteoderms for defense. The "Paralititan" type specimen appears to have been scavenged by a meat-eater. It is also possible that "Paralititan" was hunted by large predatory dinosaurs such as "Carcharodontosaurus".

Etymology

"Paralititan stromeri" means "Stromer's tidal titan". It was named by Joshua B. Smith, Matthew C. Lamanna, Kenneth J. Lacovara, Peter Dodson, Jennifer R. Smith, Jason C. Poole, Robert Giegengack and Yousri Attia in 2001 to honor Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach, a German paleontologist and geologist who found dinosaurs in this area in the early 1900s.

References

External links

* [http://www.dinodata.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7274&Itemid=67 "Paralititan" at DinoData]
* [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/jdsml/nature-online/dino-directory/detail.dsml?Genus=Paralititan "Paralititan" in the Dino Directory]