| Silutitan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Skeletal diagram showing known material | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Family: | †Euhelopodidae |
| Genus: | †Silutitan Wang et al., 2021 |
| Type species | |
| †Silutitan sinensis Wang et al., 2021 | |
Silutitan (meaning "Silk Road giant") is agenus ofeuhelopodidsauropoddinosaur from theEarly CretaceousShengjinkou Formation ofXinjiang,China. It contains only thetype species,Silutitan sinensis.
In 2006, aKonservat-Lagerstätte was reported from theShengjinkou Formation in theHami region ofXinjiang, China. This consisted of lake sediments allowing for exceptional preservation of fossils. The same year,Qiu Zhanxiang andWang Banyue started official excavations.[2]
Among the excavated fossils were sixcervical vertebrae with all neural spines intact. In 2021, these were established as the holotype (IVPP V27874) of the new sauropod taxon,Silutitan. AHamipterus jaw was found near the tenth cervical vertebra, but this is likely due totaphonomy. The generic name, refers to theSilk Road (Silu inMandarin), while the specific name,sinensis, refers to China.[2]
The phylogenetic analysis of Wang et al. placesSilutitan as the sister taxon toEuhelopus, a position that does not change when it is combined with the contemporary titanosaurHamititan into a single unit.[2]
Other animals from the holotype locality include the contemporary titanosaurHamititan, which was described in the same paper, and the pterosaurHamipterus. Together,Silutitan, the aforementioned fauna, and an unnamed theropod represent the known fossil vertebrate taxa of the area.[2]
