Garumbatitan
Garumba giant; named after the Garumba river near the discovery site in Spain, combined with Titan from Greek mythology
Early Cretaceous stages
Garumbatitan is an extinct genus of somphospondylan sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous Arcillas de Morella Formation of Spain. The genus contains a single species, G. morellensis, known from multiple partial skeletons.
Diagnosis
- Depression near anterior edge of centrum above lateral crest in middle-posterior caudal vertebrae
- Middle-posterior caudal vertebral pedicels covered by complex of three anteroposteriorly elongated ridges
- Middle-posterior caudal neural spines expanded posteriorly resulting in lateral rounded boss
- Femur with markedly developed lateral bulge representing 44% of transverse minimal width of femoral shaft
- Trochanteric shelf with proximolaterally-to-distolaterally orientation
- Metatarsals II, III, and IV more gracile and longer than metatarsals I and V with abrupt transition, causing retraction of most medial and lateral toes
Species
Garumbatitan morellensis Mocho et al., 2023
Type species
Named for the Arcillas de Morella Formation and the nearby town of Morella in Castelló, Spain, where some of the first Spanish dinosaur remains were discovered.
- Holotype
- SAV05-021 , Museu Temps de Dinosaures
- Material
- Partial skeleton.
- Horizon
- middle Arcillas de Morella Formation, Barremian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–121.4 million years ago
- Locality
- Sant Antoni de la Vespa, Castellón, Spain
References
- Mocho, P.; Escaso, F.; Gasulla, J. M.; Galobart, À.; Poza, B.; Santos-Cubedo, A.; Sanz, J. L.; Ortega, F. (2023). New sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous of Morella (Spain) provides new insights on the evolutionary history of Iberian somphospondylan titanosauriforms. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 201(1): 214-268. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlad124 mocho2023a