| Baalsaurus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Holotype dentary compared to that of Bonitasaura | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Class: | Sauropsida |
| Subclass: | Archosauria |
| Superorder: | Dinosauria |
| Order: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Titanosauria |
| Genus: | †Baalsaurus Calvo & Riga, 2018 |
| Type species | |
| †Baalsaurus mansillai Calgo & Riga, 2018 | |
Baalsaurus (Greek for "baal's lizard") was a mid-size sauropod dinosaur, living in a period of the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian to Coniacian, about 90-89.8 million years ago) in the territory of Patagonia, Argentina (Neuquén Province).
Baalsaurus was the sister taxon to Bonitasaura.
Discovery[]
Baalsaurus is known solely from a dentary bone from the Portezuelo formation. The unique shape and morphology of jaw bone and dentition (in the form of ten preserved teeth) show that they belonged to a separate and unknown genus and species of titanosaur. This is one of the few cases where sauropod jaw bone is present and carries clear diagnostic features. Baalsaurus was described by paleontologists Jorge O. Calv and Bernard Gonzalez Rigou at the turn of 2018 and 2019.
References[]
- Leanza, HA; et al. (2004): Cretaceous terrestrial beds from the Neuquén Basin (Argentina) and their tetrapod assemblages. Cretaceous Research 25 (1): 61-87. doi: 10.1016 / j.cretres.2003.10.005
- Jorge O. Calvo and Bernardo Gonzalez Riga (2018) [2019]. Baalsaurus mansillai gen. et sp. nov. and a new titanosaurian sauropod (Late Cretaceous) from Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina . Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (advance online publication) . doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0001-3765201820180661.