Paluxysaurus

Name: Paluxysaurus (Paluxy river lizard).
Phonetic: Pah-lux-ee-sore-us.
Named By: Peter J. Rose - 2007.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Sauropodomorpha, Sauropoda.
Species: P. jonesi (type).
Diet: Herbivore
Size: Estimated 15 - 18 meters long.
Known locations: USA, Texas, Twin Mountains Formation, Hood County.
Time period: Aptian to Albian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Four individuals discovered in a bone bed.

       Initial reconstruction of Paluxysaurus gives it an outward appearance similar to that of Brachiosaurus, although it is not a confirmed member of Brachiosauridae, and may in fact belong to a different group. Paluxysaurus may actually indicate a basal titanosauriform, although it lacks the defining features of the group. In identifying the remains, Paluxysaurus has very characteristic vertebrae that differ to all other known sauropods, although Pleurocoelus has similar vertebrae. There are also other minor differences that can be identified in the other bones of Paluxysaurus.
       Analysis of the Paluxysaurus bone bed indicates fluvial deposits suggesting that the individuals may have been caught together in a flood, further indicated by the presence of petrified logs that were possibly washed down river.

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