Open Paleo

Paludititan

Csiki et al., 2010 puh-LOO-di-TIE-tan

From Latin palus ('marsh' or 'swamp') and Greek Titan (a giant), meaning 'marsh titan', referring to the marshy paleoenvironment where it was found in Romania

72.2–66.0 million years ago Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Paludititan is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur which lived in the area of present Romania during the Late Cretaceous. It existed in the island ecosystem known as Hațeg Island.

Under dispute

Placed within Lithostrotia as incertae sedis. The describing analysis (Csiki and colleagues, 2010) nested Paludititan within Titanosauria but left its position unresolved, recovering it as a derived titanosaur (a lithostrotian) under some datasets and as a basal titanosaur near Andesaurus under others; a later study recovers it as a basal lithostrotian (Díez Díaz and colleagues, 2018). None of the analyses cited recovers it as a saltasaurine or lirainosaurine.

Diagnosis

  1. Dorsal segment of anterior centrodiapophyseal lamina curves anterodorsally and extends parallel to posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina
  2. Anterior and anteriormost mid-caudal neural spines short, upright with anteriorly projecting anterodorsal corner
  3. Amphiplatyan and platycoelous caudal vertebrae intercalated between procoelous caudal vertebrae in mid-tail section
  4. Posterolateral buttress on iliac peduncle of ischium
  5. Long and gracile pubis
  6. Accessory anterior centrodiapophyseal lamina in posterior dorsals

Species

Paludititan nalatzensis Csiki et al., 2010

Type species

Named for Nălațvad, the Romanian village near where the holotype skeleton was uncovered in the bed of the river Râul Mare.

Holotype
UBB NVM1 , Museum of Paleontology-Stratigraphy, Department of Geology, Universitatea Babeș-Bolyai
Material
Partial skeleton including dorsal vertebrae, ribs, anterior and mid-caudal vertebrae, hemapophyses, partial pelvis with pubis and ischium, femur fragment, and ungual phalanges
Horizon
Râul Mare Beds Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Nălaț-Vad, Hunedoara, Romania The describing paper gives the Sânpetru Formation. Csiki-Sava and colleagues (2016) call the Râul Mare Valley succession only tentatively referred to it, and record a proposal that it belongs to the Densuș-Ciula Formation instead; Díez Díaz and colleagues (2025) place Nălaț-Vad in the "Râul Mare Beds", either the uppermost Sînpetru Formation or a distinct unit.

References

  1. Csiki, Z.; Codrea, V.; Jipa-Murzea, C.; Godefroit, P. (2010). A partial titanosaur (Sauropoda, Dinosauria) skeleton from the Maastrichtian of Nalat-Vad, Hateg Basin, Romania. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen 258(3): 297-324. Schweizerbart. doi:10.1127/0077-7749/2010/0098 csiki2010a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026b
  3. Díez Díaz, V.; Garcia, G.; Pereda-Suberbiola, X.; Jentgen-Ceschino, B.; Stein, K.; Godefroit, P.; Valentin, X. (2018). The titanosaurian dinosaur Atsinganosaurus velauciensis (Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of southern France. New material, phylogenetic affinities, and palaeobiogeographical implications. Cretaceous Research 91: 429-456. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2018.06.015

    Described Atsinganosaurus and recovered Paludititan as a basal lithostrotian titanosaur

    díezdíaz2018a
  4. Díez Díaz, V.; Mannion, P. D.; Csiki-Sava, Z.; Upchurch, P. (2025). Revision of Romanian sauropod dinosaurs reveals high titanosaur diversity and body-size disparity on the latest Cretaceous Haţeg Island, with implications for titanosaurian biogeography. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 23(1). Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/14772019.2024.2441516

    Places the type locality in the Râul Mare Beds.

    díezdíaz2025a
  5. Csiki-Sava, Z.; Vremir, M.; Vasile, Ş.; Brusatte, S. L.; Dyke, G.; Naish, D.; Norell, M. A.; Totoianu, R. (2016). The East Side Story – The Transylvanian latest Cretaceous continental vertebrate record and its implications for understanding Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary events. Cretaceous Research 57: 662-698. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.09.003

    Treats the Râul Mare Valley succession, tentatively referred to the Sînpetru Formation, as a separate entity.

    csiki-sava2016a