| Normanniasaurus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Genus: | †Normanniasaurus Le Loeuff, Suteethorn & Buffetaut,2013 |
| Type species | |
| †Normanniasaurus genceyi Le Loeuff, Suteethorn & Buffetaut, 2013 | |
Normanniasaurus (/nɔːrˈmæniəˌsɔːrəs/ Normannia lizard) is anextinctgenus ofbasaltitanosaursauropod known from theEarly Cretaceous (Albian stage)Poudingue Ferrugineux ofSeine-Maritime, northwesternFrance.
Normanniasaurus was first described and named by Jean Le Loeuff, Suravech Suteethorn and Eric Buffetaut in2013 and thetype species isNormanniasaurus genceyi. Thegeneric name is derived fromNormannia, theLatin name ofNormandy where the bones were discovered, and fromsauros, meaning "lizard" inAncient Greek. Thespecific name,genceyi, honors Mr. Pierre Gencey who discovered the remains in July 1990.Normanniasaurus is known from theholotype MHNH-2013.2.1.1 through MHNH-2013.2.1.12 housed at theMuseum d’histoire naturelle du Havre, a partialskeleton including presacralvertebrae fragments, a partialsacrum, an anterior and a middlecaudal vertebrae, a rightscapula, fragments of bothilia andischia, the proximal end of afemur and the proximal part of afibula. A posterior caudal centrum, housed at theMuséum d’Histoire Naturelle de Rouen, discovered at the end of the nineteenth century and described by Buffetaut in 1984,[1] was also referred to this species. All specimens were collected on the north side ofCap de la Hève at Bléville,Le Havre, dating to the early to middleAlbian stage of the Early Cretaceousperiod, although the referred specimen is apparently from a younger level of the Albian.[2]
Normanniasaurus is known from vertebrae and parts of the axial skeleton. It can be distinguished from other Albian sauropods of Western Europe.[2]
Below is a list ofautapomorphies found by Le Loeuffet al. when evaluating the holotype ofNormanniasaurus:[2]
Normanniasaurus is a basal titanosaurian. It shares several primitive characters with slightly younger basal titanosaurians such asEpachthosaurus andAndesaurus.[2]
The late Early Cretaceous radiation of basal Titanosauria in South America, Europe and Africa is unusual.[2]
InEurope, Albian sauropods are still poorly known. Isolated discoveries (from Cambridgeshire, northern France, and southern France) indicate that European titanosaurs coexisted in the Albian with other groups of sauropods.[2]
