Garrigatitan
Garrigatitan (meaning "garrigue giant", referring to a type of Mediterranean vegetation characterized by drought-resistant shrubs) is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur from the late Cretaceous Period of the Grès à Reptiles Formation in France. The genus contains a single species, Garrigatitan meridionalis. The subadult length is estimated to be 4–6 metres (13–20 ft), while the adult length is estimated at around 12–16 metres (39–52 ft).[1]
| Garrigatitan | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Eusauropoda |
| Clade: | †Neosauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Clade: | †Lithostrotia |
| Clade: | †Lirainosaurinae |
| Genus: | †Garrigatitan Díaz et al., 2020 |
| Species: | †G. meridionalis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Garrigatitan meridionalis Díaz et al., 2020 | |
Discovery and naming
Between 2009 and 2012, excavations were carried out at Velaux-La Bastide Neuve by the Palaios Association and the University of Poitiers. During the excavations, the holotype of Garrigatitan was discovered and remains of Atsinganosaurus velauciensis were also present.[2]
In 2020, the type species Garrigatitan meridionalis was named and described by Verónica Díez Díaz, Géraldine Garcia, Xabier Pereda Suberbiola, Benjamin Jentgen-Ceschino, Koen Stein, Pascal Godefroit and Xavier Valentin. The holotype, MMS / VBN.09.17, was found in a layer of sandstone of the Begudian, the second level of the second series, dating back to the late Campanian. It consists of a sacrum belonging to an immature individual.[1]
In addition, a number of other fossils have been assigned to the species. This concerns the specimens MMS / VBN.02.99: a cervical vertebra; MMS / VBN.09.A.016 and MMS / VBN.09.47: two humeri; MMS / VBN.12B.12a: a left ilium and MMS / VBN.12B.12b: a right ischial bone. Furthermore, fossils were allocated with reservation. They were the specimens MMS / VBN.12B.011: a neural spine; MMS / VBN.12.82: a right humerus; MMS.VBN.09.A.017: part of the right leg and MMS / VBN.00.13: a left femur. The assigned specimens come from the third level of the second series. The fossils were found in a lens with an area of 375 square meters and a thickness of 1.2 metres (3.9 ft). They were not associated and presumably represent different individuals and they are all part of the Moulin Seigneurial de Velaux collection.[1]
Etymology
The genus name is a combination of the Occitan garriga, "dry thicket", and the Greek "titan", a member of a mythological family of giants. The species epithet meridonalis means "southern" in Latin.[1]
References
- Díez Díaz, Verónica; Garcia, Géraldine; Pereda Suberbiola, Xabier; Jentgen-Ceschino, Benjamin; Stein, Koen; Godefroit, Pascal; Valentin, Xavier (2020-12-21). "A new titanosaur (Dinosauria: Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Velaux-La-Bastide Neuve (southern France)". Historical Biology: 1–20. doi:10.1080/08912963.2020.1841184. ISSN 0891-2963.
- B. Vila; A. Galobart; J.U. Canudo; J. Le Loeff; et al. (2012). "The diversity of sauropod dinosaurs and their first taxonomic succession from the latest Cretaceous of southwestern Europe: Clues to demise and extinction". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 350–352 (15): 19–38. Bibcode:2012PPP...350...19V. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2012.06.008.
