Bonatitan

Bon-ah-ty-tan.
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Claire Morris

Marine Paleontologist

Claire Morris has dedicated her career to exploring the depths of prehistoric oceans. Her fascination with ancient marine life has led her to discover significant fossils that illuminate the evolution of early sea creatures.

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Name

Bonatitan ‭(‬Bonaparte’s titan‭ ‬-‭ ‬named after Jos� Fernando Bonaparte‭)‬.

Phonetic

Bon-ah-ty-tan.

Named By

‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Martinelli‭ & ‬A.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Forasiepi‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004.

Classification

Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosaira,‭ ‬Saltasauridae.

Diet

Herbivore.

Species

B.‭ ‬reigi‭

Size

Uncertain due to lack of remains,‭ ‬but is noted as being of a small size.

Known locations

Argentina,‭ ‬Rio Negro Province‭ ‬-‭ ‬Allen Formation.

Time Period

Campanian-Maastrichtian of the Cretaceous.

Fossil representation

Brain case and partial post cranial remains.‭ ‬Fossil remains of two individuals are known.

In Depth

       Named after the famous palaeontologist Jos� Fernando Bonaparte for his contributions to the advancement of palaeontology,‭ ‬Bonatitan seems to have actually been quite a small titanosaur.‭ ‬Hailing from the Allen Formation,‭ ‬Bonatitan likely shared its habitat with other dinosaurs such as other titanosaurs like Saltasaurus,‭ ‬Laplatasaurus,‭ ‬Aeolosaurus and Rocasaurus and the hadrosaurs Lapampasaurus and Willinakaqe.‭ ‬Predatory threats may have come from theropod dinosaurs such as Austroraptor.‭ ‬Large numbers of fish and turtle fossils are also known indicating the presence of a lot of water in the ecosystem of Bonatitian while the pterosaur Aerotitan is also known to have been present.

Further Reading

-‭ ‬Late Cretaceous vertebrates from Bajo de Santa Rosa‭ (‬Allen Formation‭)‬,‭ ‬Rio Negro province,‭ ‬Argentina,‭ ‬with the description of a new sauropod dinosaur‭ (‬Titanosauridae‭)‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Revista del Museo Argentino de Ciencias Naturales‭ ‬6‭(‬2‭)‬:‭ ‬257-305.‭ ‬-‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Martinelli‭ & ‬A.‭ ‬M.‭ ‬Forasiepi‭ ‬-‭ ‬2004. – Redescription of Bonatitan reigi (Sauropoda: Titanosauria), from the Campanian–Maastrichtian of the R�o Negro Province (Argentina). – Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology 27(5): 525-548. – L. Salgado, P.A. Gallina & A. Paulina Carabajal – 2014.

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