Mnyamawamtuka
Mnyamawamtuka | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Clade: | Saurischia |
Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
Clade: | †Sauropoda |
Clade: | †Macronaria |
Clade: | †Titanosauria |
Clade: | †Lithostrotia |
Genus: | †Mnyamawamtuka Gorscak and O'Connor, 2019 |
Type species | |
†Mnyamawamtuka moyowamkia Gorscak and O'Connor, 2019
|
Mnyamawamtuka (pronounced "Mm-nya-ma-wah-mm-too-ka" IPA:
Discovery and naming
In 2004, a sauropod skeleton was found at the Mtuka River, twenty kilometres from Lake Rukwa. It was excavated between 2005 and 2008.[1]
In 2019, the
The holotype, RRBP 05834, was found in a layer of the Mtuka Member of the Galula Formation dating from the Aptian-Cenomanian, most likely between 110 and 100 million years old. It consists of a partial skeleton lacking the skull. It contains a neural arch of a front neck vertebra, centra of four neck vertebrae, seven back vertebrae, seven neural arches and seven centra of tail vertebrae, four chevrons, numerous rib pieces, a right shoulder blade, a right breastbone, both humeri, a left ulna, a right first metacarpal, a left third metacarpal, the left ischium, the right pubic bone, both thighbones, both shinbones, the left calfbone, the left metatarsus, two toe phalanges and a foot claw. The skeleton was not articulated. Despite the missing skull it represents one of the most complete known skeletons of early titanosaurs.[1]
Description
The holotype individual had an estimated length of 7.6 metres and a weight of 1.5 tonnes. It probably was not fully grown.[2]
The describing authors indicated some distinguishing traits. Five of these are
Phylogeny
Mnyamawamtuka was placed in the
References
- ^ PMID 30759122.
- ^ "Titanosaur the Size of a School Bus Had Heart-Shaped Tail Bones". Live Science. 13 February 2019.