Tataouinea
Tataouinea is a genus of sauropod dinosaur (with a single species, Tataouinea hannibalis) in the subfamily Rebbachisaurinae of Rebbachisauridae which lived in the Early Cretaceous Tunisia. Its bones were extensively pneumatic, providing strong support for the theory that sauropods had birdlike respiratory systems. Key characteristics of its vertebral morphology show that Tatouinea was a rebbachisaurid, closely related to the nigersaurines of Europe.[1] In 2015, more material of the holotype specimen uncovered after the initial description were analysed. These included additional tail vertebrae. A phylogenetic analysis was published alongside the paper, finding a clade of nigersaurines to include Rebbachisaurus, thus forcing the subfamily to be renamed Rebbachisaurinae.[2]
| Tataouinea Temporal range: Albian | |
|---|---|
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| Reconstructed skeleton, known elements in pink | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Clade: | Dinosauria |
| Clade: | Saurischia |
| Suborder: | †Sauropodomorpha |
| Clade: | †Sauropoda |
| Family: | †Rebbachisauridae |
| Genus: | †Tataouinea Fanti et al.,2013 |
| Species: | †T. hannibalis |
| Binomial name | |
| †Tataouinea hannibalis Fanti et al.,2013 | |
It bears the name of the region where it was discovered, Tataouine, and a punic military commander Hannibal.
References
- Federico Fanti; Andrea Cau; Mohsen Hassine & Michela Contessi (2013). "A new sauropod dinosaur from the Early Cretaceous of Tunisia with extreme avian-like pneumatization". Nature Communications. 4 (2080): 1–7. doi:10.1038/ncomms3080. PMID 23836048.
- Fanti, F.; Cau, A.; Cantelli, L.; Hassine, M.; Auditore, M. (2015). "New Information on Tataouinea hannibalis from the Early Cretaceous of Tunisia and Implications for the Tempo and Mode of Rebbachisaurid Sauropod Evolution". PLoS ONE. 10 (4): e0123475. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0123475. PMC 4414570. PMID 25923211.
