Paralititan
Encyclopedia
Paralititan was a giant titanosaurian sauropod
dinosaur
genus
discovered in coastal deposits in the Upper Cretaceous
Bahariya Formation
of Egypt
. The fossil represents the first tetrapod
reported from the Bahariya Formation since 1935. Its 1.69 meter (5.54 ft) long humerus
is longer than that of any known Cretaceous sauropod. The autochthonous, scavenged skeleton was preserved in tidal flat deposits containing fossil mangrove
vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem it inhabited was situated along the southern shore of the Tethys
Sea. Paralititan is the first dinosaur demonstrated to have inhabited a mangrove biome.
Little of Paralititan is known, so its exact size is difficult to estimate. However the limited material suggests that it is one of the most massive dinosaurs ever discovered, with an estimated weight of 59 tonnes (65 short ton
s). Using Saltasaurus
as a guide, Carpenter
estimated its length at around 26 meters (85 ft). Like other titanosaurs, it had a wide-gauge stance and may have possessed osteoderms for defense. The Paralititan type specimen appears to have been scavenged by a meat-eater. It is also possible that Paralititan was hunted by large predatory dinosaurs such as Carcharodontosaurus
.
" or "Stromer's tidal giant". It was named by Joshua B. Smith, Matthew C. Lamanna, Kenneth J. Lacovara, Peter Dodson, Jennifer R. Smith, Jason C. Poole, Robert Giegengack and Yousri Attia in 2001 to honor Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach
, a German
paleontologist
and geologist
who found dinosaurs in this area in the early 1900s.
. It was depicted as one of the most common herbivores of its time and regular food for Carcharodontosaurus
, Rugops
and Spinosaurus
.. The discovery of Paralititan is chronicled in the 2002 documentary The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, narrated by Matthew McConaughey, and in the companion book The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt: The Astonishing and Unlikely True Story of One of the Twentieth Century's Greatest Paleontological Discoveries.
Sauropoda
Sauropoda , or the sauropods , are an infraorder of saurischian dinosaurs. They had long necks, long tails, small heads , and thick, pillar-like legs. They are notable for the enormous sizes attained by some species, and the group includes the largest animals to have ever lived on land...
dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
genus
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...
discovered in coastal deposits in the Upper Cretaceous
Cretaceous
The Cretaceous , derived from the Latin "creta" , usually abbreviated K for its German translation Kreide , is a geologic period and system from circa to million years ago. In the geologic timescale, the Cretaceous follows the Jurassic period and is followed by the Paleogene period of the...
Bahariya Formation
Bahariya Formation
The Bahariya Formation is a fossil bearing geologic formation dating back to the Cenomanian, geographically located in Marsa Matruh, central Egypt.-Lepidosaurs:-Sauropods:Indeterminate sauropod remains.-Theropods:...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. The fossil represents the first tetrapod
Tetrapod
Tetrapods are vertebrate animals having four limbs. Amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are all tetrapods; even snakes and other limbless reptiles and amphibians are tetrapods by descent. The earliest tetrapods evolved from the lobe-finned fishes in the Devonian...
reported from the Bahariya Formation since 1935. Its 1.69 meter (5.54 ft) long humerus
Humerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
is longer than that of any known Cretaceous sauropod. The autochthonous, scavenged skeleton was preserved in tidal flat deposits containing fossil mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
vegetation. The mangrove ecosystem it inhabited was situated along the southern shore of the Tethys
Tethys Ocean
The Tethys Ocean was an ocean that existed between the continents of Gondwana and Laurasia during the Mesozoic era before the opening of the Indian Ocean.-Modern theory:...
Sea. Paralititan is the first dinosaur demonstrated to have inhabited a mangrove biome.
Little of Paralititan is known, so its exact size is difficult to estimate. However the limited material suggests that it is one of the most massive dinosaurs ever discovered, with an estimated weight of 59 tonnes (65 short ton
Short ton
The short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s). Using Saltasaurus
Saltasaurus
Saltasaurus is a genus of titanosaurid sauropod dinosaur of the Late Cretaceous Period. Relatively small among sauropods, though still massive by the standards of modern creatures, Saltasaurus was characterized by a diplodocid-like head...
as a guide, Carpenter
Kenneth Carpenter
Kenneth Carpenter is a paleontologist. He is the museum director of the USU Eastern Prehistoric Museum and author or co-author of a number of books on dinosaurs and Mesozoic life...
estimated its length at around 26 meters (85 ft). Like other titanosaurs, it had a wide-gauge stance and may have possessed osteoderms for defense. The Paralititan type specimen appears to have been scavenged by a meat-eater. It is also possible that Paralititan was hunted by large predatory dinosaurs such as Carcharodontosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus was a gigantic carnivorous carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived around 100 to 93 million years ago, during the late Albian to early Cenomanian stages of the mid-Cretaceous Period...
.
Etymology
Paralititan stromeri means "Stromer's tidal (Greek para + halos "near sea") titanTitan (mythology)
In Greek mythology, the Titans were a race of powerful deities, descendants of Gaia and Uranus, that ruled during the legendary Golden Age....
" or "Stromer's tidal giant". It was named by Joshua B. Smith, Matthew C. Lamanna, Kenneth J. Lacovara, Peter Dodson, Jennifer R. Smith, Jason C. Poole, Robert Giegengack and Yousri Attia in 2001 to honor Ernst Stromer von Reichenbach
Ernst Stromer
Ernst Freiherr Stromer von Reichenbach was a German paleontologist.He described the following Cretaceous dinosaurs from Egypt: Aegyptosaurus, Bahariasaurus, Carcharodontosaurus, and the largest known theropod, Spinosaurus aegyptiacus...
, a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
paleontologist
Paleontology
Paleontology "old, ancient", ὄν, ὀντ- "being, creature", and λόγος "speech, thought") is the study of prehistoric life. It includes the study of fossils to determine organisms' evolution and interactions with each other and their environments...
and geologist
Geology
Geology is the science comprising the study of solid Earth, the rocks of which it is composed, and the processes by which it evolves. Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth, as it provides the primary evidence for plate tectonics, the evolutionary history of life, and past climates...
who found dinosaurs in this area in the early 1900s.
In popular culture
Paralititan was featured in the 2009 documentary Monsters ResurrectedMonsters Resurrected
Monsters Resurrected is an American documentary television series that premiered on September 13, 2009, on the Discovery Channel. The program reconstructs extinct animals...
. It was depicted as one of the most common herbivores of its time and regular food for Carcharodontosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus
Carcharodontosaurus was a gigantic carnivorous carcharodontosaurid dinosaur that lived around 100 to 93 million years ago, during the late Albian to early Cenomanian stages of the mid-Cretaceous Period...
, Rugops
Rugops
Rugops is a genus of theropod dinosaur which inhabited what is now Africa approximately 95 million years ago...
and Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus
Spinosaurus is a genus of theropod dinosaur which lived in what is now North Africa, from the lower Albian to lower Cenomanian stages of the Cretaceous period, about 112 to 97 million years ago. This genus was first known from Egyptian remains discovered in 1912 and described by German...
.. The discovery of Paralititan is chronicled in the 2002 documentary The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt, narrated by Matthew McConaughey, and in the companion book The Lost Dinosaurs of Egypt: The Astonishing and Unlikely True Story of One of the Twentieth Century's Greatest Paleontological Discoveries.