Pellegrinisaurus

  • Argentina, Río Negro ( Anacleto Formation)
  • Pellegrinisaurus powelli

Is a genus of sauropod dinosaur Pellegrinisaurus from the Upper Cretaceous ( Campanian early ) of Argentina, which is ranked among the Titanosauria. So far, only the dorsal and caudal vertebrae and an incomplete femur (femur ) are known. The only known species is Pellegrinisaurus powelli.

Features

Pellegrinisaurus was a comparatively large Titanosaurier which could attain a length of up to 25 meters. From allied genera it can be distinguished by the unusually broad vertebrae that were about twice as wide as high; also show the rear ( posterior ) caudal vertebrae anteroposterior (along the midline of the body ) elongated spinous processes, whose front ends are higher than the rear ends.

System

The relationships within the Titanosauria are controversial. Initially Pellegrinisaurus Salgado (1996 ) has been described as the sister taxon Saltasaurinae. Salgado and Bonaparte (2007 ) observed, meanwhile, that this genus may possibly be classified within the Saltasaurinae. A key common feature, the Pellegrinisaurus tells the Saltasaurinen Saltasaurus, are the low anterior caudal vertebrae, whose side faces are bounded above and below by convex edges.

Fund and naming

The only Fund ( holotype, specimen number MPCA 1500) consists of four centers of the vertebrae, 26 incomplete caudal vertebrae, as well as a right fragmentary femur. Another mid- caudal vertebrae is also attributed to this genus. The fossils were discovered at the Pellegrini Lake near Cinco Saltos in the Argentine province of Río Negro. The rocks of the discovery site belong to the uppermost portion of the Anacleto Formation, a formation of the Neuquén Group, and can be dated to the early Campanian.

The find was described in 1996 by Leonardo Salgado first time scientifically. The name refers to the Pellegrini Lake, where the fossils were found.

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