Pitekunsaurus

Pitekunsaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Campanian PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Illustration of a herd
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Clade:	Dinosauria
Clade:	Saurischia
Clade:	†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:	†Sauropoda
Clade:	†Macronaria
Clade:	†Titanosauria
Clade:	†Lithostrotia
Genus:	†Pitekunsaurus Filippi & Garrido, 2008
Type species
†Pitekunsaurus macayai Filippi & Garrido, 2008

Pitekunsaurus is a genus of titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Late Cretaceous Anacleto Formation of Neuquén, Argentina. It was described by L. Filippi and A. Garrido in 2008. The type species is P. macayai.^[1] The generic name is derived from Mapudungun pitekun, meaning "to discover", the epitheton honours the discoverer, oil company explorer Luis Macaya, who found the fossil in April 2004.

Classification

Pitekunsaurus appears to be a genus of aeolosaurid, most closely related to the genera Gondwanatitan and Aeolosaurus.^[2] Its braincase closely resembles that of the aeolosaurid Muyelensaurus as well as the titanosaurs incertae sedis Vahiny and Jainosaurus.^[3][4] It cannot be compared to the more closely related Aeolosaurus and Gondwanatitan in this regard, as neither genus is known from cranial material.

References

1. Filippi, L.S.; Garrido, A.C. (2008). "Pitekunsaurus macayai gen. et sp. nov., new titanosaur (Saurischia, Sauropoda) from Upper Cretaceous Neuquén Basin, Argentina". Ameghiniana. 45 (3): 575–590.
2. Coria, R. A.; Filippi, L. S.; Chiappe, L. M.; García, R.; Arcucci, A. B. (2013). "Overosaurus paradasorum gen. et sp. nov., a new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauria: Lithostrotia) from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina". Zootaxa. 3683 (4): 357–376. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3683.4.2. hdl:11336/21928. PMID 25250458.
3. Wilson, J. A.; D'Emic, M. D.; Curry Rogers, K. A.; Mohabey, D. M.; Sen, S. (2009). "Reassessment of the sauropod dinosaur Jainosaurus (="Antarctosaurus") septentrionalis from the Upper Cretaceous of India". Contributions from the Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan. 32 (2): 17–40.
4. Curry Rogers, K.; Wilson, J. A. (2014). "Vahiny depreti, gen. et sp. nov., a new titanosaur (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Upper Cretaceous Maevarano Formation, Madagascar". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 34 (3): 606–617. Bibcode:2014JVPal..34..606R. doi:10.1080/02724634.2013.822874.