Angolatitan
Encyclopedia
Angolatitan is a genus
of long-necked, plant eating sauropod dinosaur from Angola
. It is known from a partial right arm including a shoulder blade
, upper arm
(110 centimetres (43.3 in) long), the two bones of the lower arm (ulna
and radius
), and three metacarpals. This specimen was found in the Tadi Beds of the Itombe Formation, a Late Turonian
-age rock unit (approximately 90 million years old). The discovery was made by Dr Octávio Mateus
in 2005, near Iembe, Ambriz
, in Bengo Province, a region that would have been underwater at that time. It was named by Octávio Mateus, Louis L. Jacobs, Anne S. Schulp, Michael J. Polcyn, Tatiana S. Tavares, André Buta Neto, Maria Luísa Morais and Micuel T. Antunes in 2011
and the type species
is A. adamastor, named after Adamastor
, a mythological sea giant. Angolatitan was a basal
titanosauriform
, more derived than Brachiosaurus
but less derived than Euhelopus
, which is notable given its relatively late appearance in the sauropod fossil record. It lived in what is thought to have been a desert setting, and is the first dinosaur named from Angola.
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of long-necked, plant eating sauropod dinosaur from Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
. It is known from a partial right arm including a shoulder blade
Scapula
In anatomy, the scapula , omo, or shoulder blade, is the bone that connects the humerus with the clavicle ....
, upper arm
Humerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
(110 centimetres (43.3 in) long), the two bones of the lower arm (ulna
Ulna
The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form and runs parallel to the radius, which is shorter and smaller. In anatomical position The ulna is one of the two long bones in the forearm, the other being the radius. It is prismatic in form...
and radius
Radius (bone)
The radius is one of the two large bones of the forearm, the other being the ulna. It extends from the lateral side of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist and runs parallel to the ulna, which exceeds it in length and size. It is a long bone, prism-shaped and slightly curved longitudinally...
), and three metacarpals. This specimen was found in the Tadi Beds of the Itombe Formation, a Late Turonian
Turonian
The Turonian is, in the ICS' geologic timescale, the second age in the Late Cretaceous epoch, or a stage in the Upper Cretaceous series. It spans the time between 93.5 ± 0.8 Ma and 89.3 ± 1 Ma...
-age rock unit (approximately 90 million years old). The discovery was made by Dr Octávio Mateus
Octávio Mateus
Octávio Mateus is a Portuguese dinosaur paleontologist and biologist . He received his PhD at Universidade Nova de Lisboa in 2005...
in 2005, near Iembe, Ambriz
Ambriz
Ambriz is a city, commune and municipality in Bengo Province, Angola.The population of Ambriz is majority Bakongo, with some Portuguese descedents.Also, the population also includes Ovimbundu and Kimbundu....
, in Bengo Province, a region that would have been underwater at that time. It was named by Octávio Mateus, Louis L. Jacobs, Anne S. Schulp, Michael J. Polcyn, Tatiana S. Tavares, André Buta Neto, Maria Luísa Morais and Micuel T. Antunes in 2011
2011 in paleontology
-Lobopods:-Arachnids:-Insects:-Newly named jawless vertebrates:-Newly named acanthodian:-Newly named cartilaginous fishes:-Newly named bony fishes:-Newly named lepospondyls:-Newly named temnospondyls:-Newly named lissamphibians:...
and the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
is A. adamastor, named after Adamastor
Adamastor
Adamastor is a Greek-type mythological character famed by the Portuguese poet Luís de Camões in his epic poem Os Lusíadas , as a symbol of the forces of nature Portuguese navigators had to overcome during their discoveries...
, a mythological sea giant. Angolatitan was a basal
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
titanosauriform
Macronaria
Macronaria is a clade of sauropod dinosaurs from the Middle Jurassic to Late Cretaceous Periods of what are now North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. The name means 'large nostrils' , in reference to the large nasal openings high on the head that probably supported fleshy...
, more derived than Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus
Brachiosaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur from the Jurassic Morrison Formation of North America. It was first described by Elmer S. Riggs in 1903 from fossils found in the Grand River Canyon of western Colorado, in the United States. Riggs named the dinosaur Brachiosaurus altithorax,...
but less derived than Euhelopus
Euhelopus
Euhelopus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur that lived during the Early Cretaceous, between 130 and 112 million years ago . It lived in what is now Shandong Province in China. A large herbivore, it weighed approximately 15-20 tons and attained an adult length of 15m...
, which is notable given its relatively late appearance in the sauropod fossil record. It lived in what is thought to have been a desert setting, and is the first dinosaur named from Angola.