Limaysaurus

Skeletal reconstruction of Limaysaurus

• Argentina ( South America)

• Limaysaurus tessonei

Limaysaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the family of Rebbachisauridae that lived during the early Cretaceous (lower Cenomanian ) in what is now Argentina. The only way is Limaysaurus tessonei.

Limaysaurus tessonei was originally described as Rebbachisaurus tessonei by Jorge Calvo and Leonardo Salgado in 1995. The genus Limaysaurus was first mentioned in 2004 by Leonardo Salgado and colleagues. Limaysaurus was named after the Rio Limay. The holotype, MUCPv -205, consists of a partial skeleton, including a portion of the skull, and was found in 1988 by Lieto Francisco Tessone; after him, the species name was named. This skeleton and another MUCPv -206, was investigated by José Bonaparte. Further material of Limaysaurus was found between 1995 and 2002 in the Lohan Cura Formation in Neuquén in northwestern Argentina. These so-called " bonebeds " are about 112 million years old.

Limaysaurus was a medium-sized sauropod. Gregory S. Paul ( 2010) estimate its length to approximately 15 m and its weight about 7 tons. The neural spines on its back were very high.

Salgado et al. (2004) holds Limaysaurus for a Rebbachisauriden. The Rebbachisauridae is a basal family of Diplodocoidea and have been found in South America, Europe and Africa. A cladistic analysis ( Salgado et al., 2004) demonstrated a close relationship between Limaysaurus, Rebbachisaurus and Nigersaurus. Withlock (2011) came to the conclusion that Limaysaurus was a close relative of Cathartes aura and summarized them for Limaysaurinae. These are a sister taxon of Nigersaurinae, which includes the genera Nigersaurus, Zapalasaurus and Demandasaurus. These form the basal ( primitive ) genera Rebbachisaurus and Histriasaurus the family Rebbachisauridae. Below is a cladogram by Withlock (2011):

Histriasaurus

Rebbachisaurus

Zapalasaurus

Demandasaurus

Nigersaurus

Cathartes aura

Limaysaurus