Open Paleo

Lusotitan

Antunes & Mateus, 2003 LOO-so-tie-tan

From 'Luso-' (the Latin term for an inhabitant of Lusitania, i.e., Portugal) combined with Greek 'Titan' (a mythological giant); meaning 'Portuguese titan' or 'Lusitanian titan'

154.8–143.1 million years ago Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Lusotitan is a genus of herbivorous brachiosaurid sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic of Portugal.

Diagnosis

  1. Small lateral projection of the spinopostzygapophyseal lamina at midheight of the anteriormost sacral neural spine
  2. Transversely elongated or T-shaped pits in the middle caudal vertebrae
  3. Circular depressions on the ventral face of the middle to posterior caudals, anterior to the posterior chevron facets
  4. Pubic peduncle of the ischium constricted in anterior view
  5. Tibia strongly bowed laterally
  6. No vertical groove running up the tibial shaft between the lateral and medial malleoli
  7. Cnemial crest ventrally directed
  8. Acute lateral margin of the tibia, bordered by smooth dorsoventral grooves
  9. Abrupt transition between the dorsal surface of the articular surface of the ascending process and the lateral surface of the tibial shaft

Species

Lusotitan atalaiensis Antunes & Mateus, 2003

Type species

Named for Atalaia, the site in Portugal where the holotype fossils were discovered.

Lectotype
MG 4798, MG 4801, MG 4803, MG 4805, MG 4806, MG 4807, MG 4808, MG 4809, MG 4810, MG 4944, MG 4950, MG 4952, MG 4958, MG 4964, MG 4965, MG 4966, MG 4981, MG 4982, MG 4985, MG 8793, MG 8795, MG 8807 , Museu Geológico do Instituto Geológico e Mineiro
Material
A dorsal vertebra, rib fragments, a sacral centrum, spines and rib, 19 caudals, 12 or more chevrons, both humeri and radii, and the left ulna, pubis, ischium, tibia, fibula and astragalus
Notes
Antunes and Mateus (2003) designated the lectotype, Lapparent and Zbyszewski having fixed no type. Mocho and colleagues (2016) revised its contents, dropping MG 4802 and MG 4804 as coming from other localities and MG 4938 as an indeterminate fragment rather than the ilium earlier accounts took it for.
Horizon
Praia Azul Member, Lourinhã Formation, Kimmeridgian–Tithonian, Late Jurassic , 154.8–143.1 million years ago
Locality
Peralta, near Atalaia, Lisbon, Portugal

References

  1. Antunes, M. T.; Mateus, O. (2003). Dinosaurs of Portugal. Comptes Rendus Palevol 2(1): 77-95. Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle. doi:10.1016/s1631-0683(03)00003-4 antunes2003a
  2. Mannion, P. D.; Upchurch, P.; Barnes, R. N.; Mateus, O. (2013). Osteology of the Late Jurassic Portuguese sauropod dinosaur Lusotitan atalaiensis (Macronaria) and the evolutionary history of basal titanosauriforms. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 168(1): 98-206. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1111/zoj.12029

    Full osteological redescription of the lectotype, diagnosing the taxon on six autapomorphies. Reported several elements as missing from the collections, most of which were later relocated.

    mannion2013a
  3. Mocho, P.; Royo-Torres, R.; Ortega, F. (2016). New data of the Portuguese brachiosaurid Lusotitan atalaiensis (Sobral Formation, Upper Jurassic). Historical Biology 29(6): 789-817. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/08912963.2016.1247447

    Redescribes the lectotype and places the Peralta quarry in the Bombarral Sub-basin, the older name for the Consolação.

    mocho2016a
  4. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the lower length and mass estimates.

    paul2024a
  5. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height, and of the upper length and mass estimates.

    jones2026b