Sibirotitan
From 'Siberia' (the Russian region where it was found) + 'Titan' (the giant beings of Greek mythology, commonly used for large sauropods), meaning 'Siberian titan'.
Early Cretaceous stages
Sibirotitan is a genus of somphospondyl sauropod from the Early Cretaceous (Barremian age) Ilek Formation of Russia. The type and only species is S. astrosacralis.
Diagnosis
- High hyposphene ridge on middle dorsal vertebrae extending between neural canal and postzygapophyses
- Only five sacral vertebrae, differing from all other Somphospondyli
- Sacral ribs converge towards middle of sacrum in dorsal view, resembling star rays
- Thin horizontal epipophyseal-prezygapophyseal lamina on cervical vertebrae
- Reduced cervical neural arch lamination within Somphospondyli
Species
Sibirotitan astrosacralis Averianov et al., 2018
Type species
From Greek 'astron' meaning 'star' and Latin 'os sacrum' meaning 'sacred bone', referring to the star-like pattern in which the sacral ribs radiate in dorsal view.
- Holotype
- PM TGU 120/10-Sh1-22 , Paleontological Museum, Tomsk State University
- Material
- Middle dorsal vertebra with complex neural arch structure, camellate bone texture
- Horizon
- Ilek Formation, Barremian–Aptian, Early Cretaceous , 125.8–113.2 million years ago
- Locality
- Shestakovo 1, Kemerovo, Russia
Synonyms of the genus
| Name | Type | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Sibirosaurus | informal | Informal press nickname (2015) for the specimen later formally described as Sibirotitan. |
References
- Averianov, A.; Ivantsov, S.; Skutschas, P.; Faingertz, A.; Leshchinskiy, S. (2018). A new sauropod dinosaur from the Lower Cretaceous Ilek Formation, Western Siberia, Russia. Geobios 51(1): 1-14. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2017.12.004 averianov2018a
-
Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.
Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.
jones2026b