Post by dinosauria101 on May 11, 2019 10:11:29 GMT 5
Paralititan stromeri
Temporal Range: Upper Cretaceous, Cenomonian, 98 Ma
Scientific Classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Clade: Tetrapoda
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Sauropsida
Clade: Diapsida
Clade: Neodiapsida
Clade: Sauria
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Clade: Crurortarsi
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Ornithodira
Clade: Dinosauromorpha
Clade: Dinosauriformes
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade Eusaurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Plateosauria
Clade: Massopoda
Clade: Anchisauria
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Gravisauria
Clade: Eusauropoda
Clade: Neosauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Clade: Somphospondyli
Clade: Titanosauriformes
Clade: Titanosauria
Clade: Eutitanosauria
Superfamily: Titanosauroidea
Family: Argyrosauridae
Genus:Paralititan
Species:Paralititan stromeri
Etymology: Stromer's tidal giant
Size
(Probable size based on Elaltitan)
Length: ~24-25 meters?
Mass: ~43-45 tonnes?
Height: ~5.6 meters? at the shoulders
Paralititan was a giant argyrosaurid sauropod dinosaur genus discovered in coastal deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Bahariya Formation of Egypt. The fossil represents the first tetrapod reported from the Bahariya Formation since 1935. Its 1.69-meter long humerus is longer than that of any known Cretaceous sauropod. The autochthonous, scavenged skeleton was preserved in tidal flat deposits containing fossil mangrove vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem it inhabited was situated along the southern shore of the Tethys Sea. Paralititan is the first dinosaur demonstrated to have inhabited a mangrove biome.
Little of Paralititan is known, so its exact size is difficult to estimate. However the limited material suggests that it is one of the most massive dinosaurs ever discovered, with a mass estimated at up to 59 tonnes. Using Saltasaurus as a guide, Carpenter estimated its length at around 26 meters. Since Paralititan is an argyrosaurid, not a saltasaurid, Carpenter's estimates are very likely to be wrong, since he uses a very distant taxon as a base.
Paralititan seems to be most closely related to Argyrosaurus, based on the few remains known. Both had very wide, flattened "snowboard" humeri and appear to have been very robust animals. They appear to fall in more derived than lognkosaurs but more basal than most other lithostrotians (i.e. saltasaurs, nemegtosaurs, etc.).
Like other titanosaurs, it had a wide-gauge stance and may have possessed osteoderms for defense. The Paralititan type specimen appears to have been scavenged by a meat-eater. Adult Paralititan was virtually immune to predation(except for perhaps packs of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus) due to their massive size, but juveniles were vulnerable to attacks from creatures such as Carcharodontosaurus and Sauroniops.
In popular culture
The discovery of Paralititan is chronicled in the 2002 documentary The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, narrated by Matthew McConaughey, and in the companion book The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt: The Astonishing and Unlikely True Story of One of the Twentieth Century's Greatest Paleontological Discoveries. Paralititan also features in the 2011 documentary Planet Dinosaur.
Temporal Range: Upper Cretaceous, Cenomonian, 98 Ma
Scientific Classification:
Domain: Eukaryota
(unranked): Unikonta
(unranked): Opisthokonta
Kingdom: Animalia
Subkingdom: Eumetazoa
(unranked): Bilateria
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Clade: Teleostomi
Clade: Tetrapoda
Clade: Amniota
Clade: Sauropsida
Clade: Diapsida
Clade: Neodiapsida
Clade: Sauria
Clade: Archosauromorpha
Clade: Archosauriformes
Clade: Crurortarsi
Clade: Archosauria
Clade: Ornithodira
Clade: Dinosauromorpha
Clade: Dinosauriformes
Clade: Dinosauria
Clade: Saurischia
Clade Eusaurischia
Clade: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Plateosauria
Clade: Massopoda
Clade: Anchisauria
Clade: Sauropoda
Clade: Gravisauria
Clade: Eusauropoda
Clade: Neosauropoda
Clade: Macronaria
Clade: Somphospondyli
Clade: Titanosauriformes
Clade: Titanosauria
Clade: Eutitanosauria
Superfamily: Titanosauroidea
Family: Argyrosauridae
Genus:Paralititan
Species:Paralititan stromeri
Etymology: Stromer's tidal giant
Size
(Probable size based on Elaltitan)
Length: ~24-25 meters?
Mass: ~43-45 tonnes?
Height: ~5.6 meters? at the shoulders
Paralititan was a giant argyrosaurid sauropod dinosaur genus discovered in coastal deposits in the Upper Cretaceous Bahariya Formation of Egypt. The fossil represents the first tetrapod reported from the Bahariya Formation since 1935. Its 1.69-meter long humerus is longer than that of any known Cretaceous sauropod. The autochthonous, scavenged skeleton was preserved in tidal flat deposits containing fossil mangrove vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem it inhabited was situated along the southern shore of the Tethys Sea. Paralititan is the first dinosaur demonstrated to have inhabited a mangrove biome.
Little of Paralititan is known, so its exact size is difficult to estimate. However the limited material suggests that it is one of the most massive dinosaurs ever discovered, with a mass estimated at up to 59 tonnes. Using Saltasaurus as a guide, Carpenter estimated its length at around 26 meters. Since Paralititan is an argyrosaurid, not a saltasaurid, Carpenter's estimates are very likely to be wrong, since he uses a very distant taxon as a base.
Paralititan seems to be most closely related to Argyrosaurus, based on the few remains known. Both had very wide, flattened "snowboard" humeri and appear to have been very robust animals. They appear to fall in more derived than lognkosaurs but more basal than most other lithostrotians (i.e. saltasaurs, nemegtosaurs, etc.).
Like other titanosaurs, it had a wide-gauge stance and may have possessed osteoderms for defense. The Paralititan type specimen appears to have been scavenged by a meat-eater. Adult Paralititan was virtually immune to predation(except for perhaps packs of Carcharodontosaurus saharicus) due to their massive size, but juveniles were vulnerable to attacks from creatures such as Carcharodontosaurus and Sauroniops.
In popular culture
The discovery of Paralititan is chronicled in the 2002 documentary The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, narrated by Matthew McConaughey, and in the companion book The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt: The Astonishing and Unlikely True Story of One of the Twentieth Century's Greatest Paleontological Discoveries. Paralititan also features in the 2011 documentary Planet Dinosaur.