Open Paleo

Arackar

Rubilar-Rogers et al., 2021

From Kunza (the language of the Atacameno people of Chile) 'arackar' meaning 'skeleton'

83.6–66.0 million years ago Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Arackar is an extinct genus of lithostrotian sauropod, possibly part of the Saltasauridae, discovered in the Hornitos Formation of Atacama Province, Chile. The genus contains a single species, Arackar licanantay, described by Rubilar-Rogers and colleagues in 2021.

Diagnosis

  1. Wide and tall centroprezygapophyseal fossa + parapophyseal centroprezygapophyseal fossa (cprf + pacprf) extending on entire anterior faces of pedicles but not above the neural canal (middle neural arches)
  2. Reduced spinopostzygapophyseal laminae (spol) shorter than the postzygapophyseal facet length (middle neural arches)
  3. Spinopostzygapophyseal lamina inclined laterally less than 20° to the horizontal with an anterodorsal concave (saddle-shaped) face (anterior dorsal arches)
  4. Absence of intrapostzygapophyseal lamina (tpol) in anterior dorsal arches
  5. Ischium pubic articulation greater than the anteroposterior length of the proximal plate peduncle, with a relatively short and narrow posterior process

Species

Arackar licanantay Rubilar-Rogers et al., 2021

Type species

From the Kunza language, the full binomial Arackar licanantay translating to 'bones of the Atacamans', referring to the Atacameno people indigenous to the region of discovery in Chile.

Holotype
SNGM-1 , Servicio Nacional de Geológia y Minero
Material
Partial postcranial skeleton: two cervical centra, two anterior dorsal neural arches, one posterior dorsal neural arch, three dorsal centra, right humerus, left ischium, left femur, and various unidentified fragments
Horizon
Hornitos Formation, Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–66.0 million years ago
Locality
La Higuera ravine, Atacama, Chile

Synonyms of the genus

Name Type Reason
Domeykosaurus nomen nudum Nomen nudum; never officially described, treated as junior synonym of Arackar (named 2001, two years prior).

References

  1. Rubilar-Rogers, D.; Vargas, A. O.; González Riga, B.; Soto-Acuña, S.; Alarcón-Muñoz, J.; Iriarte-Díaz, J.; Arévalo, C.; Gutstein, C. S. (2021). Arackar licanantay gen. et sp. nov. a new lithostrotian (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of the Atacama Region, northern Chile. Cretaceous Research 124. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2021.104802 rubilar-rogers2021a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates.

    jones2026b