#ninjatitan

[fundinofactoftheday]

Dinofact #114

Ninjatitan is the oldest known titanosaur.

Sources: CNN, Wikipedia

[new-dinosaurs]

Ninjatitan zapatai Gallina et al., 2021 (new genus and species)

(Back vertebra of Ninjatitan zapatai, from Gallina et al., 2021)

Meaning of name: Ninjatitan = [Argentinian paleontologist] Sebastián “Ninja” Apesteguía's titan; zapatai = for Rogelio Zapata [technician at the Museo Municipal Ernesto Bachman]

Age: Early Cretaceous (Berriasian–Valanginian)

Where found: Bajada Colorada Formation, Neuquén, Argentina

How much is known: Partial vertebrae, a shoulder blade, and a couple of hindlimb bones from one individual.

Notes: Several features of the vertebrae and shoulder blade of Ninjatitan suggest that it may have been a titanosaurian sauropod. If so, it would be the oldest titanosaur known. Titanosaurs were a very successful group of sauropods that diversified greatly during the Cretaceous and included the largest known dinosaurs. Ninjatitan lived alongside several other types of sauropods, including the diplodocid Leinkupal and the spiny-necked dicraeosaurid Bajadasaurus.

Reference: Gallina, P.A., J.I. Canale, and J.L. Carballido. 2021. The earliest known titanosaur sauropod dinosaur. Ameghiniana 58: 35–51. doi: 10.5710/AMGH.20.08.2020.3376