Open Paleo

Paralititan

Smith et al., 2001 pa-RAL-i-TIE-tuhn

From Greek parali (tidal, of the sea) and titan (giant); meaning "tidal giant".

100.5–93.9 million years ago Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Paralititan is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived in present-day Egypt during the Late Cretaceous period. It was described by American paleontologist Joshua B. Smith and colleagues in 2001. The genus contains a single species, Paralititan stromeri, named based on a fragmentary skeleton including vertebrae and limb bones. These fossils were unearthed by an American expedition to the Bahariya Oasis in western Egypt in rock layers of the Bahariya Formation. This formation dates to the Cenomanian stage of the Late Cretaceous, which lasted 101 to 94 million years ago. An incomplete dorsal (back) vertebra that had been described by German paleontologist Ernst Stromer in 1932 was also assigned to Paralititan. However, this vertebra had been destroyed during the Bombing of Munich in World War II.

Under dispute

Placed within Lithostrotia as incertae sedis. The fragmentary holotype and brief original description leave the position very uncertain. The describing analysis (Smith and colleagues, 2001) nested Paralititan within Titanosauridae using a small matrix, whereas a recent analysis recovers it within Saltasauridae, close to Maxakalisaurus (Vila and colleagues, 2022). It is placed at Lithostrotia pending resolution.

Diagnosis

  1. Very large titanosaurid with exceptionally long humerus (1.69 m)
  2. Proximal caudal centra wider than tall with strongly procoelous proximal surface and well-developed distal articular condyle
  3. Prominent tabular process on caudoventral margin of scapula distal to proximal expansion
  4. Humerus with medial ridge on proximocaudal face, unknown in other titanosaurids
  5. Humerus with rectangular radial condyle and strongly developed deltopectoral crest extending more than 53% of element length
  6. Longitudinal ridges on ventral surface of caudal centra bordering sagittal concavity
  7. Postspinal lamina present between spinopostzygapophyseal laminae on distal neural spine surface

Species

Paralititan stromeri Smith et al., 2001

Type species

Named for Ernst Stromer, the German paleontologist who first established the presence of dinosaur fossils in the Bahariya Oasis of Egypt during a 1911 expedition.

Holotype
CGM 81119 , Egyptian Geological Museum
Material
Two fused caudal sacral vertebrae (probably 5 and 6), first caudal vertebra, proximal caudal vertebra, dorsal and sacral ribs, scapulae, humeri, distal metacarpal, and additional elements
Horizon
Bahariya Formation, Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–93.9 million years ago
Locality
Gebel Fagga, Giza, Egypt

References

  1. Smith, J. B.; Lamanna, M. C.; Lacovara, K. J.; Dodson, P.; Smith, J. R.; Poole, J. C.; Giegengack, R.; Attia, Y. (2001). A Giant Sauropod Dinosaur from an Upper Cretaceous Mangrove Deposit in Egypt. Science 292(5522): 1704-1706. American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). doi:10.1126/science.1060561 smith2001a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026b
  3. Vila, B.; Sellés, A.; Moreno-Azanza, M.; Razzolini, N. L.; Gil-Delgado, A.; Canudo, J. I.; Galobart, À. (2022). A titanosaurian sauropod with Gondwanan affinities in the latest Cretaceous of Europe. Nature Ecology & Evolution 6(3): 288-296. Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s41559-021-01651-5

    New Gondwanan titanosaurian study recovered Paralititan within Saltasauridae near Maxakalisaurus.

    vila2022a