Losillasaurus

Losillasaurus
Temporal range: Late JurassicEarly Cretaceous
L. giganteus vertebra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Superorder: Dinosauria
Order: Saurischia
Infraorder: Sauropoda
(unranked): Turiasauria
Genus: Losillasaurus
Casanovas et al., 2001
Species
  • L. giganteus (type)
    Casanovas et al., 2001

Losillasaurus (meaning "Losilla lizard") is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary in the southeast of Spain. The type species of the turiasaurian Losillasaurus giganteus was discovered in the Los Serranos basin in Valencia and formally described by Casanovas, Santafé and Sanz in 2001. The material is from a subadult and includes part of a skull; complete cervical, dorsal, sacral, and caudal vertebrae as well as several fragments; skeletal elements from the limbs including a humerus, ulna, radius, and metacarpal; sternal plates; and from the pelvis: the ilium, ischium, and pubis. The genera is characterized by the dimension and shape of the neural spine of the proximal caudal vertebrae.[1][2] The humerus is 143 centimetres (56 in) long,[3] which despite being from a subadult specimen is within 20% of the size of Paralititan.[4] The size estimation proposed by Francisco Gascó in his master thesis is 15–18 m (49–59 ft) and 12-15 tons.[5]

References

  1. Casanovas, Maria Lourdes; Santafé, José Vicente; Sanz, José Luis (2001). "Losillasaurus giganteus, un nuevo saurópodo del tránsito Jurásico-Cretácico e la Cuenca de "Los Serranos" (Valencia, España)". Paleontologia i Evolució (in Spanish). 3233: 99122.
  2. Ruiz-Omeñaca, Jose Ignacio (2001). "Losillasaurus giganteus, a new Spanish sauropod". Dinosaur Mailing List.
  3. Ruiz-Omeñaca, Jose Ignacio (2001)."Re: Losillasaurus giganteus, a new Spanish sauropod". Dinosaur Mailing List.
  4. Taylor, Mike (2001). "Re: Losillasaurus giganteus, a new Spanish sauropod". Dinosaur Mailing List
  5. Gascó, F (2009): Sistemática y anatomía funcional de Losillasaurus giganteus Casanovas, Santafé & Sanz, 2001 (Turiasauria, Sauropoda). Universidad Autónoma de Madrid.
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