| Arrudatitan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Select elements of theArrudatitan holotype | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Clade: | †Lithostrotia |
| Clade: | †Aeolosaurini |
| Genus: | †Arrudatitan Silva et al.,2021 |
| Type species | |
| †Arrudatitan maximus Santucci & De Arruda-Campos,2011 | |
Arrudatitan (meaning "Arruda's giant") is an extinct genus oftitanosaursauropod dinosaur known from theLate Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian)-agedAdamantina Formation ofBrazil. The type species,A. maximus, was named and described in 2011 as a species ofAeolosaurus,[1] but was separated into its own genus in 2021.[2] It was relatively gracile for a titanosaur.
The holotype, MPMA 12-0001-97, which includes two partial posterior cervicals, fragments of several dorsals, parts of nine caudals, seven partial cervical ribs, twelve partial dorsal ribs, eight chevrons, a fragmentary scapula and arm bones, the left and partial right femur, the left ischium, and fragments; with other specimens known, such as the isolated middle caudal vertebra MPP 248,[1] was discovered in 1997 by Ademir Frare and his 12-year-old nephew Luiz Augusto dos Santos Frare in a field inCândido Rodrigues. They notifiedpalaeontologist Antônio Celso de Arruda Campos and the holotype was collected between 1997 and 1998 by staff of theMuseu de Paleontologia de Monte Alto and it was first mentioned in scientific literature by Santucci and Bertini (2001).[3] They noted thatcrocodylomorph andtheropod teeth were found near the holotype, but no bite marks were present.[3] In 2009,Fernando Novas briefly noted on the holotype, noting its size.[4]
MPMA 12-0001-97 was initially assigned toAeolosaurus in 2011, when the speciesAeolosaurus maximus was created by Santucci & De Arruda-Campos.[1] As early as Martinelli et al. (2011), published shortly beforeAeolosaurus maximus was described, the caudal vertebra of the holotype ofAeolosaurus maximus was seen as an indeterminateaeolosaurin distinct fromAeolosaurus,[5] with Bandeira et al. (2016)[6] referring to the species as "A". maximus throughout their paper describing thetitanosauriansauropodAustroposeidon magnificus due toAeolosaurus maximus being sufficiently different fromAeolosaurus but had not yet been placed within a different genus; and subsequent analyses, such as Silva et al. (2019)[7] and Hechenleitner et al. (2020),[8] found thatAeolosaurus maximus did not belong in theAeolosaurus genus and so the new genusArrudatitan was erected in 2021 by Silva et al.[2]
Arrudatitan grew up to 15 metres (49 ft) when fully grown, based on the size of theholotype.[1][4] Thefemur length ofArrudatitan is 1.55 metres (5.1 ft).
The speciesAeolosaurus maximus was named by Santucci and De Arruda-Campos in 2011 for titanosaur remains recovered in the Adamantina Formation of Brazil. However, subsequent cladistic analyses, such as those by Silva et al. in 2019[7] and Hechenleitner et al. in 2020[8] have consideredA. maximus to be outsideAeolosaurus, the former analysis finding it to be sister toRinconsauria and the latter finding it to be closely related to a clade consisting ofPunatitan and the other twoAeolosaurus species. In light of this, Silva et al. transferred it to the new genusArrudatitan, after Brazilian paleontologist Antonio Celso de Arruda Campos.
A cladogram of the phylogenetic analysis performed by Silva et al., 2021 is shown below:[2]
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