Rebbachisaurus

Rebbachisaurus
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, Cenomanian
Holotype dorsal vertebra
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum:Chordata
Clade:Dinosauria
Order:Saurischia
Suborder:†Sauropodomorpha
Clade:†Sauropoda
Family:†Rebbachisauridae
Genus:†Rebbachisaurus
Lavocat, 1954
Species: †R. garasbae
Binomial name
Rebbachisaurus garasbae
Lavocat, 1954
Rebbachisaurus.
Rebbachisaurus garasbae vertebra

Rebbachisaurus is a genus of sauropod dinosaur of the superfamily Diplodocoidea, estimated at 14 metres (46 ft)[1] to 20 metres (66 ft) in length,[2] and 7 metric tons (7.7 short tons) in weight,[1] that lived during the Early–Late Cretaceous period in Africa about 99 million years ago. This massive four-legged herbivore lived in Morocco, Niger and Tunisia. It possessed a small head, a long, graceful neck and a whiplike tail. Rebbachisaurus is distinguished from other sauropods by its unusually tall, ridged back. The discovery of Rayososaurus, a South American sauropod nearly identical to Rebbachisaurus, supports the theory that there was still a land connection between Africa and South America during the Early Cretaceous, long after it was commonly thought the two continents had separated.

A second species was named by Lapparent in 1960, Rebbachisaurus tamesnensis. However, the material of this taxon was collected from multiple localities across the Sahara, and is not referrable to Rebbachisaurus.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 Paul, G.S., 2010, The Princeton Field Guide to Dinosaurs, Princeton University Press p. 186
  2. ↑ Holtz, Thomas R. Jr. (2011) Dinosaurs: The Most Complete, Up-to-Date Encyclopedia for Dinosaur Lovers of All Ages, Winter 2010 Appendix.
  3. ↑ Wilson, J.A.; Allain, R. (2015). "Osteology of Rebbachisaurus garasbae Lavocat, 1954, a diplodocoid (Dinosauria, Sauropoda) from the early Late Cretaceous–aged Kem Kem beds of southeastern Morocco". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology: e1000701. doi:10.1080/02724634.2014.1000701.
  • Upchurch, P., Barrett, P.M., and Dodson, P. (2004). "Sauropoda". In D. B. Weishampel, H. Osmolska, and P. Dodson (eds.), The Dinosauria (2nd edition). University of California Press, Berkeley 259–322.


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