Laplatasaurus

Name: Laplatasaurus ‭(‬La Plata lizard‭)‬.
Phonetic: La-pla-tah-sore-us.
Named By: F.‭ ‬von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1929.
Synonyms: Titanosaurus araukanicus.
Classification: Chordata,‭ ‬Reptilia,‭ ‬Dinosauria,‭ ‬Saurischia,‭ ‬Sauropoda,‭ ‬Titanosauria.
Species: L.‭ ‬araukanicus‭ (‬type‭)‬.
Diet: Herbivore.
Size: Estimated about‭ ‬18‭ ‬meters long.
Known locations: Argentina‭ ‬-‭ ‬Allen Formation,‭ ‬Anacleto Formation.‭ ‬Uruguay‭ ‬-‭ Asencio Formation.
Time period: Early Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial remains of at least three individuals.




       Laplatasaurus was initially named in‭ ‬1927‭ ‬by the famous palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene,‭ ‬however a full description was not published until‭ ‬1929,‭ ‬which is why Laplatasaurus is credited as being named in‭ ‬1929.‭ ‬Laplatasaurus has a somewhat confusing relationship with the titanosaurid Titanosaurus.‭ ‬One former species of Titanosaurus,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬madagascariensis was in‭ ‬1933‭ ‬named as a species of Laplatasaurus by Friedrich von Huene and Charles Alfred Matley,‭ ‬but today these fossils are considered to belong to the Titanosaurus type species,‭ ‬T.‭ ‬indicus.‭ ‬In‭ ‬2003,‭ ‬J.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Powell proposed that the Laplatasaurus genus should itself be made a synonym‭ ‬of Titanosaurus,‭ ‬though other palaeontologists‭ (‬Wilson‭ & ‬Upchurch,‭ ‬2003‭) ‬have refuted this,‭ ‬saying that Laplatasaurus is separate.‭ ‬At the time of writing some eleven years after this proposal,‭ ‬Laplatasaurus is still considered to be a distinct genus by most.
       Laplatasaurus is represented by the partial remains of a few individuals that have been found in Argentina and Uruguay.‭ ‬The Argentinian fossils are usually interpreted as late Albian/early Cenomanian in age,‭ ‬marking the boundary between early and late Cretaceous.‭ ‬The Uruguayan fossils however are distinctly Cenomanian in age,‭ ‬making a temporal range of Laplatasaurus being confirmed as at least early Cenomanian,‭ ‬though the full extent is still speculative.

Further reading
-‭ ‬Short review of the present knowledge of the Sauropoda.‭ ‬Memoirs of the Queensland Museum‭ ‬9‭(‬1‭)‬:121-126‭ ‬-‭ ‬F.‭ ‬von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1927.
-‭ ‬Terrestrische Oberkreide in Uruguay‭ [‬The terrestrial Upper Cretaceous in Uruguay‭]‬.‭ ‬Centralblatt f�r Mineralogie,‭ ‬Geologie und Pal�ontologie Abteilung B‭ ‬1929:107-112‭ ‬-‭ ‬F.‭ ‬von Huene‭ ‬-‭ ‬1929.
-‭ ‬Revision of South American titanosaurid dinosaurs:‭ ‬palaeobiological,‭ ‬palaeobiogeographical and phylogenetic aspects.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Records of the Queen Victoria Museum‭ ‬111:‭ ‬1-173‭ ‬-‭ ‬J.‭ ‬E.‭ ‬Powell‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003.
-‭ ‬A revision of Titanosaurus Lydekker‭ (‬Dinosauria-Sauropoda‭)‬,‭ ‬the first dinosaur genus with a‭ "‬Gondwanan‭" ‬distribution‭"‬.‭ ‬-‭ ‬Journal of Systematic Palaeontology‭ ‬1‭(‬3‭)‬:‭ ‬125-160.‭ ‬-‭ ‬J.‭ ‬A.‭ ‬Wilson‭ & ‬P.‭ ‬Upchurch‭ ‬-‭ ‬2003.



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