Open Paleo

Wamweracaudia

Mannion et al., 2019

Named after the Wamwera people, a tribe inhabiting the Lindi Region of Tanzania near the Tendaguru fossil site, combined with Latin 'cauda' meaning 'tail', as the holotype consists entirely of a series of tail vertebrae

149.2–143.1 million years ago Tithonian, Late Jurassic
Late Jurassic stages

Wamweracaudia is a large herbivorous sauropod dinosaur from the Late Jurassic (155-145 million years ago) Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania, Africa.

Diagnosis

  1. Anteriormost caudal ribs curve strongly anterolaterally
  2. Dorsal surface of centrum posteriorly excavated in anterior-middle caudal vertebrae
  3. Paired tubercles on lateral surface of prezygapophysis and dorsal surface of caudal rib in anterior caudal vertebrae
  4. Rugosity along dorsal third of lateral surface of anterior caudal neural spines, separated from postspinal rugosity by vertical groove
  5. Ventral surface of middle-posterior caudal centra strongly constricted transversely to form ridge
  6. Anteroposteriorly elongate ridge on lateral surface of middle-posterior caudal neural spines above postzygapophyses

Species

Wamweracaudia keranjei Mannion et al., 2019

Type species

Named for Mohammadi Keranje, the native foreman who led the team that excavated the holotype tail material at the Tendaguru site in Tanzania.

Holotype
MB.R.2091.1, MB.R.2091.2, MB.R.2091.3, MB.R.2091.4, MB.R.2091.5, MB.R.2091.6, MB.R.2091.7, MB.R.2091.8, MB.R.2091.9, MB.R.2091.10, MB.R.2091.11, MB.R.2091.12, MB.R.2091.13, MB.R.2091.14, MB.R.2091.15, MB.R.2091.16, MB.R.2091.17, MB.R.2091.18, MB.R.2091.19, MB.R.2091.20, MB.R.2091.21, MB.R.2091.22, MB.R.2091.23, MB.R.2091.24, MB.R.2091.25, MB.R.2091.26, MB.R.2091.27, MB.R.2091.28, MB.R.2091.29, MB.R.2091.30, MB.R.3817.1, MB.R.3817.2 , Museum für Naturkunde, Berlin
Material
Series of 30 articulated caudal vertebrae, two anterior caudal neural spines, and two incomplete chevrons
Horizon
Upper Dinosaur Member, Tendaguru Formation, Tithonian, Late Jurassic , 149.2–143.1 million years ago
Locality
Tendaguru Quarry G, Lindi, Tanzania

References

  1. Mannion, P. D.; Upchurch, P.; Schwarz, D.; Wings, O. (2019). Taxonomic affinities of the putative titanosaurs from the Late Jurassic Tendaguru Formation of Tanzania: phylogenetic and biogeographic implications for eusauropod dinosaur evolution. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 185(3): 784-909. Oxford University Press (OUP). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly068 mannion2019a
  2. Jones, B. (2026). The Princeton Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs: Sauropods. Princeton University Press.

    Source of the body length, mass, and hip height estimates.

    jones2026b