Atsinganosaurus

Atsinganosaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, 66Ma
Vertebra
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Dinosauria
Suborder: Sauropodomorpha
Clade: Somphospondyli
Clade: Titanosauria
Genus: Atsinganosaurus
Garcia et al., 2010
Species:  A. velauciensis
Binomial name
Atsinganosaurus velauciensis
Garcia et al., 2010

Atsinganosaurus is a genus of titanosaurian dinosaur which existed in what is now France during the late Cretaceous period. Well-preserved remains (and the only known) of Atsinganosaurus were collected from the Grès à Reptiles Formation of the Aix-en-Provence Basin. Atsinganosaurus was first described by Géraldine Garcia, Sauveur Amico, Francois Fournier, Eudes Thouand and Xavier Valentin in 2010, and the type species is Atsinganosaurus velauciensis.

The generic name is derived from the Greek word "τσιγγάνος" or "αθίγγανος", both meaning "gypsy", which refers to the possible migration from east to west of the species. The specific name is named after its finding place, Velaux - La Bastide Neuve.[1]

References

  1. Géraldine Garcia, Sauveur Amico, Francois Fournier, Eudes Thouand and Xavier Valentin (2010). "A new Titanosaur genus (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the Late Cretaceous of southern France and its paleobiogeographic implications". Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France 181 (3): 269–277. doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.181.3.269.