Agustinia (meaning After Agustin) is a genus of sauropod dinosaurs from the Early Cretaceous Period of South America. The type species is Agustinia ligabuei.
Discovery and Naming[]
The holotype (MCF-PVPH-110) was discovered in 1997 by an expedition. It was considered abstract by Bonaparte in 1998. Then in 1999, it was named by Bonaparte. It was named after Agustin Martinelli, who was a member of the Argentine Paleontological Society.
It was originally named Augustia, but was renamed as the genus was shown to be taken by an insect.
Description[]
Only fragmentary remains are known. These include fragments of vertebrae from the back, hips, and tail regions of the spinal column. Parts of the lower hind limb were also recovered: a fibula, tibia, and five metatarsals. A femur was also found at the site, but was too fragmented to collect. Further study of the poorly preserved fossil material indicated that the plates were fragments of ribs and hip bones. This reassessment was reaffirmed subsequently by histology of the purported osteoderms, which do not match the internal structure of other titanosaurian osteoderms. The fragmentary hip bone was tentatively identified as part of the ilium. Aside from the supposed armor, very little has been described of the anatomy of Agustinia. A fibula has been recovered that is about 895 millimetres (35.2 in) long. When compared to the same bone in related dinosaurs, this indicates that Agustinia may have been about 15 metres (49 ft) long. However, the remains are incomplete and do not appear to have many distinctive characteristics which can be used to separate it from the other sauropods.
Classification[]
Because of its supposedly unusual armor, Agustinia was originally assigned to its own family, Agustiniidae, though this family name has not come into wide acceptance. Agustinia is difficult to classify because of its fragmentary nature, and because it exhibits features of both diplodocoid and titanosaurian sauropods. In 2022, Flavio Belladarni classified it as a rebbachisaurid.
In Popular Culture[]
- Agustinia is featured in Dinosaur King.