Open Paleo

Uberabatitan

Salgado & de Souza Carvalho, 2008 yoo-buh-rab-uh-tie-tuhn

Named after Uberaba, the city in Minas Gerais, Brazil where it was found, combined with Greek titan meaning 'giant'; translates as 'Uberaba titan'

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

Uberabatitan is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous of Brazil. It is known from bones including neck, back, and tail vertebrae, pelvic bones, and limb bones. These fossils were found in the uppermost portion of the Maastrichtian-age Serra da Galga Formation of the Bauru Group, in Uberaba, Minas Gerais. The type species, described by Salgado and Carvalho in 2008, is U. ribeiroi. To date, it is the most recent titanosaur from Bauru Group rocks; other titanosaurs from the Bauru Group, including Baurutitan and Trigonosaurus, come from lower (thus older) levels.

Diagnosis

  1. Anterior and mid-cervicals with segmented postzygodiapophyseal lamina (zygapophyseal segment extends rostrodorsally over diapophyseal segment)
  2. Mid-dorsals with robust composite lateral lamina formed mainly by diapophyseal lamina and relic spinodiapophyseal lamina
  3. Mid and posterior dorsals with neural accessory laminae parallel to prespinal lamina (probable spinoprezygapophyseal laminae)
  4. Mid-caudal centra with deeply excavated lateral faces
  5. Pubis notably thick and robust with very stout longitudinal crest on external (ventral) face
  6. Tibia with very robust lateral protuberance articulating with equally robust medial knob of fibula

Species

Uberabatitan ribeiroi Salgado & de Souza Carvalho, 2008

Type species

Named for Luiz Carlos Borges Ribeiro, director of the Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas Lewellyn Price, for support of the research.

Holotype
CPP-911-UrHo, CPP-912-UrHo, CPP-914-UrHo, CPP-915-UrHo, CPP-917-UrHo, CPP-919-UrHo, CPP-921-UrHo, CPP-922-UrHo, CPP-923-UrHo, CPP-929-UrHo, CPP-992-UrHo, CPP-993-UrHo, CPP-1006-UrHo, CPP-1009-UrHo, CPP-1010-UrHo, CPP-1011-UrHo, CPP-1012-UrHo, CPP-1017-UrHo, CPP-1023-UrHo, CPP-1027-UrHo, CPP-1029-UrHo, CPP-1030-UrHo, CPP-1032-UrHo, CPP-1056-UrHo, CPP-1057-UrHo, CPP-1058-UrHo, CPP-1068-UrHo, CPP-1077-UrHo, CPP-1079-UrHo, CPP-1080-UrHo, CPP-1081-UrHo, CPP-1082-UrHo, CPP-1091-UrHo, CPP-1099-UrHo, CPP-1103-UrHo, CPP-1104-UrHo, CPP-1105-UrHo, CPP-1107-UrHo, CPP-1109-UrHo , Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas "Llewellyn Ivor Price", Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM), Peirópolis
Material
Specimen A (CPP-UrHo): 15 cervical vertebrae with ribs, anterior dorsal, mid-dorsal neural arch, dorsal rib, sacral centrum, caudal vertebrae, haemal arches, sternal plate, right coracoid, left humerus, radii, right metacarpal II, left and right pubes, left tibia, left fibula, left astragalus.
Horizon
upper Serra da Galga Formation, Maastrichtian, Late Cretaceous , 72.2–66.0 million years ago
Locality
BR-050 B (km 153), Minas Gerais, Brazil

Notable specimens

  • CPPLIP-1166

    Centro de Pesquisas Paleontológicas "Llewellyn Ivor Price", Universidade Federal do Triângulo Mineiro (UFTM), Peirópolis

    An isolated tooth possibly referable to Uberabatitan; with a crown 6.2 centimeters high from base to apex, it is the largest titanosaur tooth ever found.

    Silva Junior et al. (2023)

References

  1. Silva Junior, J. C. G.; Marinho, T. S.; Martinelli, A. G.; Ribeiro, L. C. B.; Langer, M. C. (2023). The largest known titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) tooth and other isolated dental elements from the Serra da Galga Formation (Cretaceous of Southeast Brazil). Cretaceous Research 105656. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2023.105656 silvajunior2023a
  2. Salgado, L.; de Souza Carvalho, I. (2008). Uberabatitan ribeiroi, a new titanosaur from the Marília Formation (Bauru Group, Upper Cretaceous), Minas Gerais, Brazil. Palaeontology 51(4): 881-901. Wiley. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00781.x salgado2008a
  3. Paul, G. S. (2024). The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs (3rd ed.). Princeton University Press.

    Source of the mass estimate.

    paul2024a
  4. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the hip height estimate.

    jones2026b