| Gandititan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restoration | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Clade: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Clade: | †Macronaria |
| Clade: | †Titanosauria |
| Genus: | †Gandititan |
| Species: | †G. cavocaudatus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Gandititan cavocaudatus Hanet al.,2024 | |
Gandititan is anextinct genus oftitanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from theLate CretaceousZhoutian Formation of China. The genus contains asingle species,G. cavocaudatus, known from a partial skeleton.
TheGandititanholotype specimen,JXGM-F-V1, was discovered in sediments of theZhoutian Formation inDatangkeng,Ganxian District,Ganzhou City,Jiangxi Province, China. The specimen is a partial postcranial skeleton including anarticulated series of sixcervical vertebrae, an articulated series of two partialdorsal vertebrae, sixsacral vertebrae, and 17caudal vertebrae, some ribs, and a partial rightpelvic girdle.[1]
In 2024, Hanet al.describedGandititan cavocaudatus as a new genus and species of basal titanosaurian sauropod based on these fossil remains. Thegeneric name, "Gandititan", combines "Gan", in reference to Ganzhou City, thepinyin word "di", meaning "Earth" (also the first syllable of "dizhi", meaning "geology"), and the word "titan", a common suffix for giant sauropod names, referencing thepre-Olympian gods ofGreek mythology. While the authors intended "Gandi" to honor geological studies in Ganzhou, they also note the similarity to theOld Norse "gandr", referencing magical beings. Thespecific name, "cavocaudatus", combines theLatin words "cavum", meaning "cavity" and "cauda", meaning "tail", alluding to the pattern seen in the caudal vertebrae.[1][2]
Gandititan is estimated at being 14 metres (46 ft) long.[1]
Hanet al. (2024) enteredGandititan into aphylogenetic analysis and recovered it as thesister taxon toAbdarainurus in a clade ofbasal titanosaurs includingAndesaurus and an assortment of East Asian somphospondylans. Earlier, in the preferred tree of their 2020 description ofAbdarainurus, Averianov & Lopatin recovered a similar clade of basal titanosaurs, withAbdarainurus as the sister taxon to the clade containingAndesaurus andHuabeisaurus.[3] The results of the phylogenetic analyses of Hanet al. are shown in the cladogram below:[1]
