| Gobititan | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Somphospondyli |
| Genus: | †Gobititan You, Tang, and Luo, 2003 |
| Type species | |
| Gobititan shenzhouensis You, Tang, and Luo, 2003 | |
Gobititan is a genus of herbivoroussauropoddinosaur from the Aptian[1]faunal stage of the EarlyCretaceous. The name of this genus is derived from theGobi Desert region and theTitans of Greek mythology, which is a reference to its large body size. The specific nameshenzhouensis, is derived from "Shenzhou", an ancient name for China.[2]
Gobititan can be distinguished from other titanosauriforms based on features of the caudal vertebrae. Compared with advanced titanosaurs, where the number of caudal vertebrae had been reduced to less than 35,Gobititan had a relatively high number of caudal vertebrae, which was interpreted as a basal trait.[2]Gregory S. Paul estimated thatGobititan was 20 m (66 ft) long and weighed 20 metric tons (22 short tons).[3]
The genus is based on one partial skeleton,holotypeIVPP 12579, which consists of a series of 41 caudal vertebrae and an incomplete left hindlimb. Its remains were recovered in the summer of 1999 at the "Middle Gray unit" (also known as the Xiagou Formation) of theXinminbao Group in the Gongpoquan Basin inGansu,China. Thetype species,Gobititan shenzhouensis was named and described by You, Tang and Luo in 2003 and was classified as a basaltitanosaur.[2] This specimen is housed in the collection of theInstitute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, inBeijing, China.
In its original description,Gobititan was considered to be a basaltitanosaur closely related toTangvayosaurus, suggesting that titanosaurs might have originated in Asia no later than the Early Cretaceous.[2] However, based on the fact that the fifth digit is still present on the foot (a trait unknown in all other titanosaurs), more recent research has generally considered it to be atitanosauriform,[4][5] more specifically a member of theSomphospondyli.[6][7] Nevertheless, some analyses still recoverGobititan as a titanosaur.[7]
