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Pitekunsaurus, Late CretaceousAnacleto Formation, Argentina · named 2008
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Pitekunsaurus

Lived
84 to 72 million years ago, Late Cretaceous
Diet
Herbivore
Group
Sauropods
Found in
Argentina
Named by
Filippi and Garrido 2008

Where its fossils were found

The evidence

Today

1 find

80 million years ago

Map: C. R. Scotese, PALEOMAP

Habitat

Sandy river channels crossed a muddy floodplain in the Anacleto Formation. Other dinosaurs from these rocks include Aucasaurus, Neuquensaurus and Gasparinisaura.

Field notes

About Pitekunsaurus

What it was like

Pitekunsaurus was a titanosaur, a long-necked plant eater. It is known from part of the skull and bones of the backbone and limbs.

Its world

It lived in the Late Cretaceous in what is now Argentina. Its bones come from the Anacleto Formation, where it shared the land with the abelisaurid Aucasaurus, the predator Aerosteon and the small titanosaur Neuquensaurus.

How it was found

Filippi and Garrido named it in 2008. Its name comes from a local language.

Field gallery

More views of Pitekunsaurus

Scenes reconstructed from the available fossil evidence.

Pitekunsaurus in its habitat, photo 1

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 Pitekunsaurus.

The evidence

The science behind Pitekunsaurus

Which parts of the picture come from its own bones, and which come from its relatives.

From its own fossils

  • The partial skeleton includes the braincase, the left forehead bone, a tooth, vertebrae from the neck, back and tail, rib fragments, the right shoulder blade, a forearm bone and the top of the left thigh bone.
  • Its forearm bone, the ulna, is straight and sturdy, with a well-developed point at the elbow. The blade of the shoulder blade widens moderately toward its end.
  • The rear tail vertebrae have different kinds of joints, including a vertebra with rounded ends on both sides.

Borrowed from relatives

  • Its missing face can be modeled on Tapuiasaurus, a titanosaur known from a skull, and the rest of its neck and body on more complete titanosaurs such as Mnyamawamtuka.

Still unknown

  • The shape of the complete head, and how long the complete neck and tail were.
  • Whether the mixed joints in its rear tail are normal for the animal or a sign of disease.
  • Its closest relatives. One recent analysis grouped it with Narambuenatitan under one method and placed it near Mnyamawamtuka under another.

Discovery timeline

  1. 2008Named itFilippi & Garrido
  2. 2011Same rocksFilippi, García & Garrido
  3. 2013Family treeCORIA et al.
  4. 2025Family treeDíaz et al.

Key papers

The research behind what we know of Pitekunsaurus

Close relatives

Other members of Rinconsauria

Sources: Wikidata