Histriasaurus
"Istria lizard"
Type species Histriasaurus boscarollii
- Lived
- 133 to 121 million years ago, Early Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods, Rebbachisauridae
- Found in
- Croatia
- Named by
- Dalla Vecchia 1998
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
125 million years ago
Habitat
Low islands surrounded by shallow seas in what is now Croatia. Other sauropods also lived in the region.
Field notes
About Histriasaurus
What it was like
Histriasaurus was a long-necked sauropod known from a back bone and a few other pieces. It may be one of the oldest rebbachisaurids, relatives of Nigersaurus.
Its world
It lived in the Early Cretaceous in what is now Croatia. The region was then part of a shallow sea with low islands.
How it was found
Dalla Vecchia named it in 1998. The type species is Histriasaurus boscarollii.
Field gallery
More views of Histriasaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
The evidence
The science behind Histriasaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- A partial back vertebra is the basis of the species.
- The back vertebra has an extra bracing joint beneath its main joint surfaces.
- The vertebra has a tall arch above its center, but only the base of its bony spine is preserved.
Borrowed from relatives
- Its missing head and neck are compared with Lavocatisaurus, and its missing trunk, shoulders and tail with Limaysaurus.
Still unknown
- Its full size, body proportions and the complete height of its back spines.
- The shape of its skull and teeth.
- Its skin covering and color.
Discovery timeline
- 1998Named itVecchia
- 2011Family treeFernández-Baldor et al.
- 2018Family treeTaylor
- 2025Family treevan der Linden et al.
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Histriasaurus
Named it
Distinguished Histriasaurus from a back vertebra among a collection of sauropod bones from Croatia.
Remains of Sauropoda (Reptilia, Saurischia) in the Lower Cretaceous (Upper Hauterivian/Lower Barremian) limestones of SW Istria (Croatia). Geologica Croatica 51: 105-134
No link available
Family tree
Described skull and body bones of Demandasaurus and compared its relationships with Histriasaurus and other rebbachisaurids.
Demandasaurus darwini, a New Rebbachisaurid Sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 56: 535-552
Read the paper : Demandasaurus darwini, a New Rebbachisaurid Sauropod from the Early Cretaceous of the Iberian Peninsula (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Compared the bony ridges of Xenoposeidon with other rebbachisaurids, including Histriasaurus, and identified an earlier member of the family.
Xenoposeidon is the earliest known rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur. PeerJ 6: e5212
Read the paper : Xenoposeidon is the earliest known rebbachisaurid sauropod dinosaur (opens in a new tab)Family tree
Recognized Histriasaurus as a valid rebbachisaurid and corrected an earlier claim that its type vertebra was lost.
Introduction to Diplodocoidea. Palaeontologia Electronica
Read the paper : Introduction to Diplodocoidea (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Rebbachisauridae
Sources: Wikidata