Paleontologists have announced the discovery of a new genus and species of saltasauroid titanosaurian dinosaur, based on the fossilized remains found in the Paysandú Department of Uruguay.
The newly-described dinosaur species roamed our planet during the Late Cretaceous epoch, over 85 million years ago.
Named Udelartitan celeste, the ancient giant was between 15 and 16 m (49-52 feet) in body length.
The species belongs to a superfamily of titanosaurian dinosaurs called Saltasauroidea.
“With over 80 species, mainly described in this century, titanosaurs represent the most successful and diverse sauropodomorph group,” said Dr. Matías Soto from the Instituto de Ciencias Geológicas in Uruguay and his colleagues.
“They were the most abundant large-bodied herbivorous in the Late Cretaceous of the supercontinent Gondwana, in strong contrast with the ornithischian-dominated coeval faunas of Laurasia.”
“The clade apparently arose in South America, where it shows its greatest diversity, with records ranging from the Berriasian