| Lusotitan Fossil range: Late Jurassic | |
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| Scientific classification
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Lusotitan | |
Lusotitan is the name given to a genus of dinosaur from the Late Jurassic Period. It was a brachiosaurid sauropod with long forearms, one of the hallmarks of the brachiosaur family. Its fossils were found in the Lourinhã Formation, in Portugal, dating to the Tithonian stage of the Late Jurassic.[1]
A partial skeleton was uncovered in Portugal in 1957; it is estimated that Lusotitan was 25 meters (82 feet) long. No skull has yet been found, but it would fit the typical brachiosaurid pattern with very high and open nostrils and spoon-shaped teeth. The type species is Lusotitan atalaiensis. Originally described as Brachiosaurus atalaiensis by Lapparent and Zbszewski in 1957, it was reclassified in 2003.[1]
Paleontology[]
The Lourinhã Formation of western Portugal was likely to be formed during the Kimmeridgian or Tithonian ages of the Late Jurassic period. The area is a coastal region with a strong marine influence. Its flora and fauna are similar to the Morrison Formation in the United States, and the Tendaguru Formation in Tanzania. Lusotitan is the largest dinosaur that has been discovered in the area. Lusotitan lived alongside species of the predatory theropods Allosaurus (A. europaeus), Ceratosaurus, Lourinhanosaurus, and Torvosaurus, the ankylosaurian Dracopelta, the diplodocid sauropods Dinheirosaurus and Lourinhasaurus and the stegosaurs Dacentrurus and Miragaia.
References[]
- ^ a b Antunes, Miguel; Mateus, Octavio (2003). "Dinosaurs of Portugal". Comptes rendus. Palévol 2 (1): 77–95. doi:. http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=14732825. Retrieved on 2008-07-06.
External links[]
- Brachiosauridae from Thescelosaurus!
