| Histriasaurus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Vertebra from theholotype | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Superfamily: | †Diplodocoidea |
| Family: | †Rebbachisauridae |
| Genus: | †Histriasaurus Dalla Vecchia, 1998 |
| Type species | |
| †Histriasaurus boscarollii Dalla Vecchia, 1998 | |
Histriasaurus (HIS-tree-ah-SAWR-us) (meaning "Istria lizard") is agenus ofsauropoddinosaur from the EarlyCretaceous (Hauterivian toBarremianstages, around 135-125million years ago) of Croatia. It has been suggested to be arebbachisaurid, and if so one of the oldest known members of the group.
Theholotype, specimenWN V-6, was found in a bonebed in lacustrine limestone exposed on the seafloor off the coast of the town ofBale on the Istrian peninsula inCroatia by Dario Boscarolli during the 1980s, and described in 1998 by Dalla Vecchia.
Thetype species,H. boscarollii, was described by Dalla Vecchia in 1998.[1] Thespecific name honours the discoverer of the site, Darío Boscarolli. Although some authors considerHistriasaurus a dubious taxon, more recent papers support the original classification.[2]
It was adiplodocoidsauropod, related to, but more primitive than,Rebbachisaurus. Phylogenetic analyses published in 2007 and 2011 placedHistriasaurus as the mostbasal member ofRebbachisauridae.[3][4]
Histriasaurus would have coexisted with an indeterminatecamarasaurid, an indeterminatetitanosauriform, an indeterminatesomphospondylian, an indeterminatetheropod, an indeterminatedinosaur of unknown classification[5] and theforaminiferanCampanellula capuensis.[6]
