Khetranisaurus
Type species Khetranisaurus barkhani
- Lived
- 72 to 66 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
- Diet
- Herbivore
- Group
- Sauropods, Pakisauridae
- Found in
- Pakistan
- Named by
- Malkani 2004
Where its fossils were found
The evidence
Today
70 million years ago
Habitat
Meandering rivers crossed a muddy floodplain in what is now Pakistan. Other dinosaurs reported from the Vitakri Formation include Pakisaurus, Balochisaurus and Vitakrisaurus.
Field notes
About Khetranisaurus
What it was like
Khetranisaurus was described as a titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from a few tail bones.
Its world
It lived about 72 to 66 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous, in what is now Pakistan. It comes from the Vitakri Formation.
How it was found
Malkani named Khetranisaurus in 2004. The type species is Khetranisaurus barkhani. Whether these bones define a separate genus, and whether the name was properly published, remain unsettled.
Field gallery
More views of Khetranisaurus
Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.
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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 Khetranisaurus.
The evidence
The science behind Khetranisaurus
Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.
From its own fossils
- The original fossils are a pair of tail vertebrae from the Vitakri Formation, which their describer assigned to a single animal.
- The main bodies of these tail bones are wider along the bottom than along the top.
- On the underside, a groove runs between the joints for the chevron bones, with bumps on the front rim ahead of it, and the canal for the spinal cord is broad and low.
Borrowed from relatives
- A long neck and weight-bearing legs are restored by comparison with better-known titanosaurs such as Isisaurus.
Still unknown
- Whether the tail bones distinguish it from other titanosaurs.
- The shape of its head and the length of its neck.
- Its skin and color.
Discovery timeline
- 2004Named itMalkani
- 2021Full descriptionMalkani
- 2022RedescriptionMalkani
- 2025Fossil sitesMalkani
Key papers
The research behind what we know of Khetranisaurus
Named it
Introduced Khetranisaurus as a titanosaur from tail bones found in Pakistan.
Saurischian dinosaurs from Late Cretaceous of Pakistan. In S. S. Hussain & H. D. Akbar (eds.), 5th Pakistan Geological Congress, Islamabad. National Geological Society of Pakistan, Pakistan Museum of Natural History (Pakistan Science Foundation).
No link available
Full description
Described the original tail bones, including the groove and bumps on their undersides, and compared their broad lower surfaces with those of other titanosaurs.
Jurassic-Cretaceous and Cretaceous-Paleogene Transitions and Mesozoic Vertebrates from Pakistan. Open Journal of Geology 11: 275-318
Read the paper : Jurassic-Cretaceous and Cretaceous-Paleogene Transitions and Mesozoic Vertebrates from Pakistan (opens in a new tab)Redescription
Listed the pair of tail vertebrae assigned to Khetranisaurus and emphasized their expanded lower surfaces.
Plates Boundary and Structural Geology of Balochistan and Indus Basins through Field Observations on Chaman Transform Fault and Western Indus Suture (Pakistan): Dinosaurs from Pakistan with Attributed Bones and Key Features: Titanosaurs from India with Updated Assessment on <i>Jainosaurus</i>. Open Journal of Geology 12: 1032-1079
Read the paper : Plates Boundary and Structural Geology of Balochistan and Indus Basins through Field Observations on Chaman Transform Fault and Western Indus Suture (Pakistan): Dinosaurs from Pakistan with Attributed Bones and Key Features: Titanosaurs from India with Updated Assessment on <i>Jainosaurus</i> (opens in a new tab)Fossil sites
Reported more tail bones and a slender thigh bone near the Khetranisaurus site and assigned them to another genus, not to Khetranisaurus.
Geology and Mineral Resources of Some Districts of Pakistan: Recent Found Paleontological Sites and New Titanosaur from Pakistan and First Diplodocid Dinosaur from Indo-Pakistan and Asia. Open Journal of Geology 15: 671-715
Read the paper : Geology and Mineral Resources of Some Districts of Pakistan: Recent Found Paleontological Sites and New Titanosaur from Pakistan and First Diplodocid Dinosaur from Indo-Pakistan and Asia (opens in a new tab)
Close relatives
Other members of Pakisauridae
Sources: Wikidata