Open Paleo

Punatitan

Hechenleitner et al., 2020 POO-na-TIE-tuhn

Named for the puna, the high-altitude Andean plateau characterized by oxygen-depleted atmosphere, combined with Greek 'titan' meaning 'giant'; meaning 'puna giant.'

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

Punatitan is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Ciénaga del Río Huaco Formation of La Rioja, Argentina. It contains one species, Punatitan coughlini.

Diagnosis

  1. Middle dorsal vertebrae with anterior and posterior spinodiapophyseal laminae forming wide flat surface between aliform and transverse processes
  2. Accessory posterior centrodiapophyseal lamina crossed by posterior centroparapophyseal lamina, forming X-shaped intersection in D6-D7
  3. Deep postzygodiapophyseal centrodiapophyseal fossa in D6-D7
  4. Neural spine of D6 tapers dorsally, forming inverted-V profile in anterior/posterior view
  5. Caudal transverse processes persist beyond Ca15
  6. Slightly anteriorly inclined neural spines in anterior-middle caudal vertebrae (Ca5-10)
  7. Distally expanded prezygapophyses in anterior-middle caudal vertebrae

Species

Punatitan coughlini Hechenleitner et al., 2020

Type species

Named for geologist Tim Coughlin, who first reported dinosaur fossils at the discovery locality in La Rioja, Argentina.

Holotype
CRILAR-Pv 614 , Centro Regional de Investigaciones Científicas y Transferencia Tecnológica de La Rioja
Material
Partial skeleton: posterior cervical vertebra (C12), two middle dorsal vertebrae (D6-D7), partial sacrum, 13 articulated caudal vertebrae with haemal arches, right pubis, left ischium, dorsal ribs
Horizon
Ciénaga del Río Huaco Formation, Campanian–Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 83.6–66.0 million years ago
Locality
Quebrada de Santo Domingo, La Rioja, Argentina

References

  1. Hechenleitner, E. M.; Leuzinger, L.; Martinelli, A. G.; Rocher, S.; Fiorelli, L. E.; Taborda, J. R. A.; Salgado, L. (2020). Two Late Cretaceous sauropods reveal titanosaurian dispersal across South America. Communications Biology 3(1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. doi:10.1038/s42003-020-01338-w hechenleitner2020a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates.

    jones2026b