Open Paleo

Udelartitan

Soto et al., 2024 YOO-duh-lar-TIE-tuhn

Combines 'UdelaR', an acronym for the Universidad de la República of Uruguay, with 'titan', a common suffix for large sauropod names referencing the pre-Olympian Titans of Greek mythology

100.5–83.6 million years ago Cenomanian–Santonian, Late Cretaceous
Late Cretaceous stages

Udelartitan is an extinct genus of saltasauroid titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Guichón Formation of Uruguay. The genus contains a single species, U. celeste, known from fragmentary remains of at least two individuals.

Diagnosis

  1. Biconvex first caudal centrum
  2. Anterior caudal vertebrae with well-developed quadrangular neural spines and postspinal laminae
  3. Pneumatic foramina in anteriormost caudal centra
  4. Dorsal tuberosities on transverse processes of anterior caudal vertebrae
  5. Middle caudal centra cotyles and condyles with hexagonal contour (autapomorphy)
  6. Well developed fibular knob on posteromedial edge of fibula
  7. Pyramidal astragalus
  8. Marked oblique ridges on anterior face of metatarsals I and II (autapomorphy)

Species

Udelartitan celeste Soto et al., 2024

Type species

From the Spanish word 'celeste' meaning 'sky blue', referencing the nickname given to some Uruguayan athletic teams.

Holotype
FC-DPV 3595 , Colección de Vertebrados Fósiles, Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República
Material
Caudal vertebrae 1-3, near-articulated
Horizon
Guichón Formation, Cenomanian–Santonian, Late Cretaceous , 100.5–83.6 million years ago
Locality
Araújo, Paysandú Department, Uruguay

Notable specimens

  • FC-DPV 1900

    Colección de Vertebrados Fósiles, Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de la República Found 2006 ontogeny

    Referred specimen of an older individual, preserving sixty caudal vertebrae, an incomplete left coracoid, ends of the tibiae, proximal fibula, six metatarsals, and two astragali, substantially more material than the three-vertebra holotype.

    Soto et al. (2012)Soto et al. (2024)

References

  1. Soto, M.; Perea, D.; Cambiaso, A. (2012). First sauropod (Dinosauria: Saurischia) remains from the Guichón Formation, Late Cretaceous of Uruguay. Journal of South American Earth Sciences 33(1): 68-79. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2011.08.003 soto2012a
  2. Soto, M.; Carballido, J. L.; Langer, M. C.; Silva Junior, J. C. G.; Montenegro, F.; Perea, D. (2024). Phylogenetic relationships of a new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous of Uruguay. Cretaceous Research 160: 105894. Elsevier BV. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2024.105894 soto2024a