Open Paleo

Rukwatitan

Gorscak et al., 2014 ruk-wah-TI-tuhn

Named for the Rukwa Rift Basin in Tanzania where it was found, combined with Greek 'titan' meaning 'giant'.

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

Rukwatitan is a genus of titanosaur sauropod dinosaur from the Galula Formation in Tanzania. It lived around 100 million years ago, during the middle Cretaceous. The species, which shared features with another southern African species, Malawisaurus dixeyi, measured 30 feet (9.1 m) from the head to the tip of the tail, and had forelimbs that were estimated around 6.5 feet (2.0 m) long. Its fossils were found embedded in a cliff face near Lake Rukwa in the Rukwa Valley, from which it gets its name.

Diagnosis

  1. Carotid processes on posterior cervical vertebrae
  2. Deep coracobrachialis fossa on proximal humerus bounded by strong anteriorly projecting deltopectoral crest
  3. Subquadrangular cross-section of humerus at midshaft (flattened anterior, medial, lateral, and posterior surfaces)
  4. Slender, curved, teardrop-shaped pubic peduncle on ilium with tail curving posteriorly
  5. Paired shallow fossae on ventral surface of posterior cervical vertebrae not separated by thin keel
  6. Accessory tubercle on ventral surface of cervical rib capitulum lateral to capituloparapophysial suture

Species

Rukwatitan bisepultus Gorscak et al., 2014

Type species

From Latin 'bisepultus' meaning 'twice buried', in reference to the holotype being initially entombed in overbank-derived mudstone, with a portion later mobilized by a paleochannel and reburied nearby in channel sandstone.

Holotype
RRBP 07409 , Rukwa Rift Basin Project
Material
Partial skeleton including three posterior cervical vertebrae, one partial anterior dorsal vertebral neural arch, three anterior caudal vertebrae, six middle caudal vertebrae, two chevrons, multiple partial dorsal ribs, distal left scapula, partial left and right coracoids, left humerus, partial right ulna, left ilium, and proximal right pubis.
Horizon
Namba Member, Galula Formation, Cenomanian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–93.9 million years ago
Locality
Namba 2, Songwe, Tanzania

References

  1. Gorscak, E.; O'Connor, P. M.; Stevens, N. J.; Roberts, E. M. (2014). The basal titanosaurian Rukwatitan bisepultus (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the middle Cretaceous Galula Formation, Rukwa Rift Basin, southwestern Tanzania. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 34(5): 1133-1154. Informa UK Limited. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.845568 gorscak2014a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass and hip height estimates.

    jones2026b