Chadititan
"salt titan"
Type species Chadititan calvoi
- Lived
- 84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods
- Found in
- Argentina
- Named by
- Agnolin et al. 2025
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
80 million years ago
Habitat
Lakes and damp hollows between dunes formed part of its landscape. Other dinosaurs recorded from the Anacleto Formation include Aucasaurus, Neuquensaurus and Gasparinisaura.
Field notes
About Chadititan
What it was like
Chadititan was a small titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from part of one skeleton.
Its world
It lived in the Late Cretaceous, in what is now Argentina. It comes from the Anacleto Formation, where it shared the land with the abelisaur Aucasaurus, the megaraptor Aerosteon and the small plant eater Gasparinisaura.
How it was found
Agnolin and colleagues named Chadititan in 2025. The type species is Chadititan calvoi.
Field gallery
More views of Chadititan
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
1 of 3
Lived alongside
Found in the same rock formations
A rock formation can hold fossils laid down millions of years apart, so not every animal here met Chadititan.
The evidence
The science behind Chadititan
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- Tail vertebrae and parts of the arms, hips, legs and feet make up its fragmentary skeleton.
- Its slender limb bones distinguish it from more heavily built titanosaurs.
Borrowed from relatives
- The missing head and neck are restored by comparison with titanosaurs such as Rinconsaurus.
- Comparisons with Rinconsaurus and Overosaurus suggest a lightly built body with a tail that curved downward near its base.
Still unknown
- The shape of its skull and the full length of its neck.
- Its skin texture and color.
- Whether it traveled in herds.
Discovery timeline
- 2003Close relativeCalvo & González Riga
- 2013Close relativeCORIA et al.
- 2025Named itAgnolin et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Chadititan
Close relative
Described Rinconsaurus, a slender relative with skull fragments and limb bones that help fill gaps in Chadititan's skeleton.
Rinconsaurus caudamirus gen. et sp. nov., a new titanosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina. Revista geológica de Chile 30
Read the paper : Rinconsaurus caudamirus gen. et sp. nov., a new titanosaurid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia, Argentina (opens in a new tab)Close relative
Described Overosaurus from an articulated backbone and hips, a useful comparison for restoring the missing trunk of Chadititan.
<i>Overosaurus paradasorum</i> gen. et sp. nov. , a new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauria: Lithostrotia) from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina. Zootaxa 3683
Read the paper : <i>Overosaurus paradasorum</i> gen. et sp. nov. , a new sauropod dinosaur (Titanosauria: Lithostrotia) from the Late Cretaceous of Neuquén, Patagonia, Argentina (opens in a new tab)Named it
Described a small titanosaur with slender limbs among fossils of turtles, fish, mammals and other animals from the same fossil layer.
New fossiliferous locality from the Anacleto Formation (Late Cretaceous, Campanian) from northern Patagonia, with the description of a new titanosaur. Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales 26: 217-259
No link available
Close relatives
Other members of Rinconsauria
Sources: Wikidata